#we reveal our long posts like men | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

kaladinkholins · 6 months

Text

Thinking about the crazy love triangle situation in Blue Eye Samurai and debating heavily with myself on how I'd like to see it conclude. And yeah this discussion can be thought of purely as shipping, headcanons, and fandom fun. But when analysing the show and engaging with it in a more in-depth, almost-literary level, it's impossible to dismiss who Mizu's potential love interests are and how different endgame romances would affect her character arc and the overall story and themes.

So in this post I'd like to look at the love triangle a bit more closely, and speculate on where the story will take this.

DISCLAIMER: It is my personal interpretation of the text that Mizu is non-binary—I use this as an umbrella term denoting any gender that does not adhere to the binary restrictions, norms, and expectations of what it means to be either a man or woman in a particular society; it's not just an androgynous "third gender" that exclusively uses they/them pronouns. Thus, while I personally believe Mizu is not strictly a cis woman, she does still identify with womanhood, despite definitely feeling a level of detachment from it due to living as a man for so long. With that being said, I will be using she/her pronouns for Mizu in this post, but please note that this is purely personal preference. Everyone is free to interpret the text the way they like. That's the fun of fiction. Now, without further ado, let's proceed.

Okay so, thinking about the pairings on a purely surface level, and even before i got into the show, I was pinning my hopes on some lesbianism going on between Mizu and Akemi, and the show does hint at this; in Ep1, during their first encounter in Kyoto, there is the famous slow-mo shot of their eyes meeting, Mizu's lips slightly parted as she is unable to tear her gaze away from Akemi, while sweet string music plays in the background. This is clear romantic framing, and a marker of attraction. If Mizu was a cishet man, there would be no question that this is a potential love interest.

But then, in the same episode, we meet Taigen, who is introduced to us firstly from hearing Akemi's father describe him as "a fierce and undefeated young samurai", the "best swordsman in the best school" and "a fisherman's son from Kohama [...] whose rise reminds [him] of [his] own."

In the next scene, we meet him in person as Akemi's fiance, and he seems sweet enough. He even gives her sweets! In exchange, Akemi gives him gold, and he feels a bit ashamed that he doesn't have anything better to offer her. But Akemi accepts him and his gift wholeheartedly and flirts with him a little, which makes him smile kinda shyly.

When Akemi confirms their engagement, Taigen is in disbelief because he has no status or noble background, but Akemi reassures him.

So from these first few scenes, we're introduced to Taigen as an honourable and strong samurai, but also as a man who is sweet and gentle with the woman he is about to marry, as well as aware of his own inferiority when compared to Akemi's high station.

Our view of him then changes as his true self is revealed: he is an arrogant and smug bastard among his peers, but more importantly, he is the terrible bully from Mizu's childhood.

And it is this side of Taigen--pompous jerk and unrepentant xenophobic bully--that we continue to see as the show goes on, and it's safe to say that this is his real self, sans any pretense of humility and modesty. Around anyone who isn't an outright superior in terms of class and power (ie. Akemi's father, the shogun), Taigen never hesitates to assert his own authority and "greatness."

But as the show goes on, he gets caught by Heiji Shindo's men, and then tortured. And that's when we see, okay, turns out he's not that bad. He's honourable; "honour" is not just meaningless and superficial pedantry for him, but an internalised, guiding principle.

He was a cruel asshat throughout Mizu's childhood, but in a prejudiced and xenophobic society, he was just playing by the rules. As a child, he knew he was at the bottom of society, but when met with someone even lower ranked than him (Mizu), he can project all those prejudices and insecurities onto someone else. This way of thinking--"if you can't beat 'em, join em"--is what allowed him to climb up the ranks despite being some dirt poor kid from an abusive household*.

*Well, that combined with his cismale privilege of course, because this would not be an option for a woman in similar circumstances.

Thus, his upholding of honour also exemplifies how Taigen embodies the ideals and rules of his society. His insistence on duelling Mizu is another more blatant example of this. He doesn't want revenge like Mizu does. He wants to be accepted by society, within the bounds that society has placed, and that means that his only two options following his defeat at the Shindo dojo were to either chase Mizu down and get his damn duel, or kill himself for his humiliating defeat.

Now! Moving on from Taigen, let's go back to the other end of this little love triangle: Akemi.

Mizu and Akemi only properly meet in Ep4. During their first meeting, when Akemi tries to poison Mizu in Madame Kaji's brothel, she compliments Mizu's eyes, calling them "beautiful."

This seems to genuinely take mizu off-guard for a second before she coolly plays along. We know that Mizu recognises Akemi from the get-go, and thus sees through Akemi's ploy from a mile away. It's also safe to assume she'd expected false flattery, because Mizu understands full well that this tactic is how women get what they want: by using their 'feminine wiles' and playing up their naivety and innocence. But even so, it's interesting that Mizu actually seems surprised by Akemi's compliment.

Then, after Mizu subtly taunts Akemi by lying about Taigen's death, she and Akemi have a bit of a scuffle, and then we get to Mizu saying this:

"Women in our world don't have a single good option. Except you, like some magical forest creature. You could have anything you want, but then you beg to eat trash."

(no screenshot because it's quite a long line but you get it)

Here we see Mizu's opinions on the marginalisation of (mostly poor and under-privileged) women stated outright, and underlying her words is also resentment. Because even though she and Akemi have shared experiences of female oppression, Mizu, unlike Akemi, was also poor, from a rural village, and is a racial minority. Mizu is triply oppressed, while Akemi only faces one primary form of oppression, and to someone as embittered by the world as Mizu is, to see Akemi "beg to eat trash" is a slap in the face, practically tone-deaf to the other injustices around her--injustices which Akemi has not shown much, or any, acknowledgement for at this point.

Then, after this scene, Mizu kills Kinuyo, and this unsettles her to a degree we've never seen from her before. She is visibly distraught, and the entire sequence hammers the theme of this episode (and arguably, a large portion of the show) into our heads: women in this world suffer. And even though Mizu is well aware of this fact, to commit this act is so visceral that is shakes her to her core, and it's what ultimately leads to the ambush of the Thousand Fangs.

But before the ambush, Mizu and Akemi talk a little again, and during this time Akemi taunts Mizu some more.

Right now, Mizu is exhausted to the point where (I believe) she even downs some sake, despite not usually drinking. Thus, worn down, she cuts Akemi's ropes and tells her, "Just go." Akemi recovers from her initial fear of Mizu's blade and taunts her some more, accurately seeing through Mizu's facade of coldness, recognising the raw anger there, and says this:

"I thought you had to be something special. Your face isn't even so scary. You're just... angry."

At this, Mizu is amused and compares Akemi to Taigen ("I see why he likes you. You're just like Taigen when we were children. A fucking brat.")

The reveal that Mizu and Taigen knew each other in childhood surprises Akemi, but before either of them can say more, everything goes to shit.

That's when we get to Ep5. This episode focuses primarily on Mizu, the central piece of this love triangle, and does the most out of all the episodes to shed some light on her character and goals, fleshing her out to be more than just the vengeful, highly proficient samurai we've seen thus far (symbolised by The Ronin), but also a person who is capable of love, domesticity and gentleness (symbolised by The Bride). But in the end, Mizu rejects both these ideals, instead becoming an Onryo, who is neither guided by pride/honour, nor love.

By 'reincarnating' into an Onryo, Mizu is able to win the day and save the women in the brothel. However, as she has now fully embraced her status as an Onryo, and is exhausted physically, mentally, and emotionally, she lets the Tokunobu clansmen take Akemi away while Akemi's screams echo in her ear.

Mizu says this choice is for Akemi's own good, that Akemi's better off; because Mizu is jaded and weary, and cannot afford the luxury of idealism, and thus must always be strictly practical and realistic. So of course that's why, in her view, yes, Akemi should not be wasting her time in a brothel where women are exploited and abused, nor should Akemi be so naive to think that her marriage with Taigen is even still possible. However, regardless of Mizu's views, it is not for her to decide, because though Akemi is privileged in some sense, she is still trapped and voiceless, and deserves the right to choose her own destiny.

But as it happens, in the end, though Akemi did not choose who she gets to marry, she DOES get to choose her next move when Edo burns down.

"I want to be great."

This one line is the key to her entire arc, which is only just beginning. We see she quickly has acquired the affection and good graces of the shogun's son after their wedding night and consummation, and with Madame Kaji and the girls now serving her, Akemi will only grow to become a prominent political player.

NOW, only after analysing the characters as they are within this season, only can we speculate how their arcs will continue as the show progresses.

First and foremost, I will reassert the popular opinion that Mizu and Akemi are foils. The climax (pun intended) of Ep7 illustrates this as it parallels the turning points in both Mizu's and Akemi's arcs:

Mizu melts the steel of all her loves and shames, the people she's collected: the broken blade wielded by both Chiaki and Taigen, Akemi's knife, Ringo's bell, Master Eiji's tongs - this symbolises her beginning to accept herself, and in doing so, also accepting the help of others;

Akemi consummates her marriage with Takayoshi Itoh, gains his affection, and cements her position as a woman in the shogun's palace - this symbolises her taking charge of her situation, no longer playing the damsel, but using her position to her advantage, empowering both herself and the underprivileged women around her.

These are thus two directly contrasting, diverging journeys:

Mizu's arc moves inward (yin). It is an internal path of self-love and self-discovery, focused on finding peace and tranquility inside herself, and this involves allowing herself to let others into her life, opening herself up to friendship and empathy once more.

Akemi's arc moves outward (yang), it is an external path of growth, transforming from a naive, caged princess to a powerful woman and a force to be reckoned with.

Akemi is always dressed in red, even her eyes are a bit of a reddish-brown rather than brown-black like most other characters, and in her penultimate scene she stands against a backdrop of flames. She is fire: quick-tempered, passionate, full of energy. Red is powerful, authoritative, and in eastern cultures, it is associated with prosperity.

Mizu is blue: her eyes, her sword, her clothes. She is also named after water; it's where she goes to recover, reflect and meditate. Water is fluid like a brook weaving around a stone in its path, always changing and adapting, it is graceful, it is beautiful and ruthless, tranquil yet swift.

Thus, in the future, I expect we will see plenty of political manoeuvring and intrigue in Akemi's plotline, where she fully embraces control of her life, and begins to take action to help others as well, realising that her own oppression is just one piece in a much larger picture. Her main conflict is with society.

In direct contrast, Mizu's main conflict is with herself. She must realise that her desire for vengeance is a projection of her own deep-rooted self-hatred. Her arc must move towards unpacking her feelings and trauma so she can be at peace with herself and allow space for love in her heart. Because as we saw in Ep5, Mizu had come extremely close to achieving peace and joy, as she had not only loved Mikio, but also had briefly believed that Mikio had loved her (and accepted her for who she is) as well.

Thus, assuming the story is not planned as a tragedy, Mizu will likely end up getting her vengeance, but it will not satisfy her, because it is not what she needs. What she needs is to let go of the Onryo within her and to reconcile both The Ronin and The Bride within herself, as she is both a fighter and a lover, but not a monster.

(Edit: I recommend checking out this post by @stylographic-blue-rhapsody for a much clearer analysis about Mizu'a symbolism as Ronin, Bride and Onryo!)

And now that we've mostly covered each of the characters individually, we can finally get to the main point of this post: the love triangle.

Let's talk about Option A: Akemi.

As I covered extensively earlier, Mizu and Akemi are foils, a yin-yang pair. But while they play off each other very well in a thematic sense, I personally believe that a serious romance between them will be more complicated if they become endgame. This is because Akemi's natural resolution is to embrace a position of power and influence, where she has both freedom and control over herself and to make much-needed changes in a prejudiced society. Meanwhile, Mizu's natural resolution is the opposite; her happy ending would to find a peaceful life where she is safe and free from prying eyes, and able to be her true self.

Thus, it would make very little sense for Akemi to forfeit power and run away with Mizu and start a humble life together. Akemi wants to be great, and that is absolutely what she deserves. On the other end of the spectrum, it would also make little sense for Mizu to dedicate her life in service of Akemi, such as acting as a bodyguard or something similar, because a life in a palace full of court intrigue and conspiracies is far from what Mizu needs to be happy.

With that being said, if Mizu/Akemi is endgame, and assuming their overarching character arcs do not shift directions, their love story would likely be either tragic, doomed, or bittersweet. I do absolutely love this type of story because personally I'm a sucker for catharsis, so it would be very interesting if the writers do decide to take this route.

Also, as a note, please do not take this as me dunking on this pairing. This is just my personal opinion and analysis and I completely understand if you disagree!

Then, of course, we have Option B: Taigen.

Between Akemi and Mizu, Taigen is a bit of a free-floater here, because Season 1 leaves off at a point where his arc is very ambiguous as to where it's headed. While Akemi climbs for greatness and Mizu goes on a journey across the ocean to (presumably) discover more about her heritage, we have little clues about where Taigen is headed. And if I'm being honest, I'm sure he has no idea either! He still hasn't reclaimed his honour, so he would be unable to rejoin the Shindo Dojo; he's been rejected by Akemi; and while he showed loyalty to the shogun, the shogun is now dead, and all the shogun's men who had witnessed his "humiliating" death were left to die by Lady Itoh, who is now pulling the strings within the palace.

Therefore, Taigen has very few options here.

And when considering his role in the story is as Mizu's begrudging ally, his arc will undoubtedly be focused on unlearning his xenophobia and misogyny, the latter of which we have not seen yet, but is surely present. Now, whether he will do this in Mizu's presence or absence will be unknown until we see Season 2. Following the Season 1 finale, he might return to Kohama and wait for Mizu there as he learns humility and remorse over his past cruelty; or maybe he will follow Mizu to London, and the two of them will continue to butt heads until he finally admits to himself that he cares for Mizu more than he would like to admit. There is no room for doubt that his growing feelings for Mizu are more-than-platonic, because we all saw him get turned on by sparring with her in Ep7 lol. Thus, regardless of the exact choice he makes, I am sure that his overall arc will be focused on redeeming his character.

Now, when it comes go redeeming him, I know there are many who simply don't want him redeemed because he was such a jerk to Mizu, and while yes I agree he was awful, I do believe there is also nuance to his character.

Previously I've discussed in great detail the colour and elemental symbolism with Mizu and Akemi, but have yet to touch on how they relate to Taigen. So, let's talk about that for a second.

While Akemi is red and Mizu is blue, Taigen is green.

Green is a complementary colour to Akemi's red. Complementary colours are directly opposite each other in the colour wheel; when mixed, they neutralise each other, but when put side-by-side, they form a pleasing and impactful contrast that boosts the brightness and prominence of both colours. This mirrors Taigen and Akemi's relationship. They are an "ideal" pair because they complement each other very well, and bring out each other's most prominent traits. Mizu's comment about their similar "brattiness" comes to mind here.

Green is also an analogous colour with Mizu's blue. These colours are sitting right next to each other on the colour wheel; their natural similarity makes it easy for them to form a cohesive overall appearance, but using both in equal amounts will make a design overwhelming and too busy. Thus, the best way to use analogous colours is to make one the dominant colour, while the other will serve as an accent. I feel this also speaks to the dynamic in Taigen and Mizu's relationship. They came from the space place, both from nothing; they're both strong fighters who love the sport, and work well together when fighting side-by-side; however, they butt heads too easily, mirroring how analogous colours can be too overwhelming when used in equal amounts. Thus, to work together in harmony, one has to be the dominant colour, while the other serves as the accent. In this case, the dominant force would be Mizu, as she is the protagonist of the story, while the accent would be Taigen.

By fulfilling this role as an "accent" to Mizu, Taigen's character would easily be slotted in as a the love interest. This is in contrast with a Mizu/Akemi relationship, whereby Akemi is Mizu's foil before she is Mizu's love interest. This is because, by being a love interest, a character usually takes a backseat in the story, serving the plot and the themes by playing a purely supportive role, and this is not possible in Akemi's case because her character exists to parallel and contrast Mizu (red and blue), and not to support her.

It is possible to serve as a supporting love interest in Taigen's case however. And this is because he, unlike the other characters, does not currently have a definitive place within the story. He initially served the plot as an antagonistic force, but now as he is slowly unlearning his prejudices and becoming a better person, he can no longer serve the story by acting purely as a rival.

Instead, he will serve the story by literally supporting Mizu. And this relates to Taigen being earth, which is steady, firm and reliable, unwavering in loyalty and principles, hardworking and rooted in stability, which is seen in Taigen's staunch and inflexible obedience to the traditions and rules of society. These traits are what make him a perfect samurai, but not a good man. However, unlike most people in their world, Taigen is still capable of change and redemption, which is why Mizu says that he has the potential to be great. Not great by way of power or glory, but great in character. Already, he is honourable to a fault, and does not betray Mizu even after she technically robbed him of everything he was striving towards. And when he was shot by an arrow in the chasm, he did not hesitate a second to tell Mizu to use him as a human shield and save herself.

The trigger for his redemption is Mizu. If she had never beat him in that duel, Taigen would live on to become a man like Akemi's father. Cruel, power-hungry, controlling, conservative. But through Mizu, Taigen's sharp edges are ground down, much like water that wears down the stones in a river.

Where Mizu and Akemi's possible love story would be a clash of wills, full of passion and even heartbreak, a possible love story between Mizu and Taigen would be the wearing down of souls. Mizu would make Taigen a better person, and in turn Taigen would dedicate his full respect and support to Mizu as his equal, thus getting her to slowly open up and love herself. Already, Taigen has grown enough to admit (begrudgingly, and in his own Taigen way) that Mizu is better than him; though, clearly, he still has a long way to go, as he still calls Mizu a demon shortly after that.

But basically, Taigen is a very simple man (his main goal now is "to be happy"), and Mizu has great depths that he cannot yet fathom. For this love story to work, it has to begin with Taigen changing for the better. If he succeeds in that, and is able to accept Mizu for all her complexities, I believe that they will make a formidable pair. And though he'd likely still throw a jab or snarky remark at Mizu every now and then, I think he'd come tl wholeheartedly admire Mizu as a brilliant swordsman and a kind soul. Thus, should things work out and this be endgame, Taigen would be able to provide Mizu with what Mikio could not: an idyllic life that is not built on a lie, but mutual trust, respect, admiration, and equality.

Or hey, maybe they could both make their own dojo together! I don't know.

(Edit: This post by @rinandsketches does a great job at delving into Taigen's character and a potential Mizu/Taigen relationship if you'd like to read more about this angle!)

Now, as I move on from Taigen, there are a couple more options on how to resolve this love triangle and that includes Option C: Ringo.

In this option, Mizu does not have an endgame romance with either Akemi or Taigen. In this route, she finds peace and love through friendship, solidarity, and a found family between herself, Ringo and Master Eiji—a bunch of outcasts in society who make a strong trifecta of sword-makers.

Also, as an aside while I'm talking about Ringo, I'd like to point out that I believe his element is air and his colour is a neutral grey; he is talkative, easy-going, wise, curious, light on his feet (stealthy) and free-spirited, which are all traits linked to air, and traits that complement Mizu nicely, as he is capable of getting Mizu to open up and trust others again, while Mizu helps him reach his true potential for greatness.

And finally, there's Option D: Polyamory.

This is basically an "all of the above" option, in which everyone wins and it's a super duper happy ending. It would also be awesome to get some polyamorous representation, and seeing the dynamic between Akemi/Mizu/Taigen play out would be very entertaining and refreshing. So, you never know, this just might be the true endgame!

AAAAND with that, I close my extremely long analysis of what is essentially Mizu's love life. Whatever the final outcome of this love triangle though, I just hope it will be well-written and satisfying to all the characters' respective arcs. (Also I just want Mizu to be HAPPY goddamn it because she deserves the world and her coochie eaten out)

Now, I highly doubt anyone will read any of this (especially not until the end!) but that's fine. I just have so many thoughts and feelings about this show and I just needed to get this out of my system lol! But if by some miracle you did read this far, I wholeheartedly welcome any sharing of thoughts and ideas because man am I obsessed with this show! But of course, if we have an opposing opinions, please be respectful when letting me know; I am very open to friendly discussions.

#blue eye samurai #mizu x taigen #mizu x akemi #mizu blue eye samurai #mizu x akemi x taigen #blue eye samurai meta #also if you ask me PERSONALLY. based on my own analysis which you can read above. personally i'm placing my bets on option b (mizutaigen)#and this is simply bcs i think mizu deserves nice things and that includes getting dicked down and pampered and worshipped #whoops who said that #also mizu deserves to live a life where she can hand taigen's ass to him on a daily basis. ykwim.#BUT i am def open to a change of opinion regarding the mizuakemi rship as the story progresses #i just dont want the writers to reduce akemi into nothing but a love interest for mizu #the only way i can see a happy mizuakemi endgame scenario is if blue eye samurai becomes purely an angsty romance story #in which case then yes i fully endorse the akemi ending <3 #but that would probs require a whole genre overhaul? bcs currently the show is firstly an action-epic where the romance is just a subplot #but even tho i dont reeeeally want a mizuakemi endgame i still DEF want mizu & akemi to be romantically and/or sexually involved plsss <3 #like they cant have that slow-mo shot between the two of them as their first encounter and NOT DO ANYTHING W IT!!!#also i want mizu to be at LEAST a little sapphic plsplspls #shut up haydar #meta dissertations.pdf #haydar's fandom posts #i wrote this whole thing while delirious and covid positive

373 notes · View notes

ari-the-arotistic · 7 months

Text

So I was thinking about pirates of the Caribbean, and each characters unique moral code and way of approaching life, as one does, when I remembered a particular scene about our beloved James Norrington... the very first scene in which Jack and James meet. Now, as a long time Sparrington shipper, I adore the Sparrington fandoms adopted head canon of Jack's compass pointing directly at Jack when James is holding it as having a romantic connotation too it, but this is Disney we're talking about, and a Disney from 20 years ago at that, so it is of course just a head canon. And while it is a beloved head canon, I will always be a writer before a shipper, and what that scene says about Norrington from a writer's perspective is far too juicy not to share... So buckle up for a very long meta post about who James Norrington is as a person, and how it was set up in this scene(and later reinforced in the second and third movie). This is my first real meta post, and I'm very excited for it, so let's jump right in.

First of all, the compass scene.

As we can clearly see in the image above, since the red line that points to the object of the holder's desires is no where to be seen, its relatively easy to conclude that it's hidden from our view by the sun dial in the middle, and thusly is pointing directly at Jack. Elizabeth is off to James's right, and no one is standing behind Jack, so unless the compass was pointing at something in the far off distance that just so happened to be in Jack's general direction(unlikely) its pretty clear what(or who) the compass is pointing at. For most potc fans, this is fairly standard knowledge. But it's what this fact says about Norrington's character that I'd like to focus on. After all, what does it say about a man that a compass that shows you what you desire most is pointing at a pirate, and the very face of piracy at that, instead of your canonical love interest, when you're a Commodore of the Navy? As stated above, Sparrington shippers often point at this scene as proof that James has a bit of a pash on the ruggedly handsome pirate, or at the very least, a thing for men. But from a writer's perspective, this just simply isn't the case, and not because the writer's in this instance are the notoriously homophobic corporation we call Disney. The reason why this is so unlikely from a writing perspective is because given the context clues, we as an audience are meant to draw the conclusion that this is the first time that they meet(I have heard rumors of them meeting as children in the books, but having never read them, and focusing only on the movies, I'm not including that in this post). And since this is the first time they've met, it's highly unlikely that the compass is pointing at Jack because James has a bit of a thing for him. Even if James has heard of Jack's many exploits, he does not truly know the man behind the legend, so having romantic feelings for the pirate at this point in time just isn't believable. And even if James was a closeted gay/bi man, it's still unlikely that the compass would be pointing at Jack of all the men around the Commodore(of which there is a lot, some of whom he is incredibly close with) seeing as Jack is the poster boy of piracy, and at this point in the movie it's made abundantly clear that James vehemently detests the notion and all who practice it. If James were to be holding the compass in Jack's vicinity in later movies and it still pointed at the pirate, an argument could definitely be made that it was because he had developed feelings for Jack, but for their first meeting, it's just not realistic. So it's much more likely that the reason the compass is pointing at Jack is because of James's desire to send every pirate he meets to "a quick drop and a sudden stop" as he so eloquently put it to a young Elizabeth. This is further reinforced in the third movie when it is revealed that Beckett's desire to have Jack dead at his feet would prevent him from using the compass to find Shipwreck Cove if the pirate was not already at the aforementioned location, or, well, dead. This is again, relatively common knowledge. But like I said before, it's what this fact says about James that is the whole point of this post... and that is that James cares more about his career than anything else, even the woman he claims to love. Now for some, that statement alone might seem like a pretty obvious conclusion, but it's how this scene subtlety sets up this core aspect of Norrington's character before we even truly get to know who he is, and how it's brought to it's full height in the second movie, and the core aspect of his redemption and subsequent death in the third that I'd really like to talk about. Which brings us to the next segment of this post...

How James lost his commission to the navy...

And how he got it back

So let's start off with how James lost his commission... it's a story we all know pretty well, and one he tells to Gibbs in the scene shown above, when he plans to either join Jack's crew or get revenge on the man that(he believes) ruined his life. After Jack's escape in the first movie, James grew obsessed with capturing the pirate, so much so that he foolishly followed the Black Pearl into a hurricane, resulting in the sinking of the Dauntless, and the loss of countless lives that had been aboard the vessel. It's unclear aside from James himself who had been on the ship at the time, and who did or did not survive, but the death toll was heavy, with most, if not everyone who wasn't James, having perished in the storm. While it is not the most extreme example(which we'll get too in just a bit), this is a pretty clear example of James prioritizing his career above everything else, even reason and logic. And all just to capture a singular pirate, even at the cost of his own ship and crew, and rather ironically, the very career that he had been so desperately trying to hold onto in the first place. Which brings us to the next scene I'd like to discuss... James stealing the heart of Davy Jones. This moment is the absolute peak of this part of James's character. This is the moment where James takes his obsessive need for his career to the max. This is the moment where James truly prioritizes his career above everything else, even the woman he claims to love(and for Sparrington shippers, above the man he's reluctantly come to care about). At this point in time, when James decides to take the heart for himself to regain his old station, he's been on the Black Pearl long enough to know the full situation. That Jack is in some kind of trouble with Davy Jones, and that if Jack doesn't use the heart to bargain for his freedom, then the Kraken will hunt Jack, and subsequently the Black Pearl, down until he and everyone aboard are dead. And that includes Elizabeth. And yet, despite knowing that stealing the heart would basically mean sealing Elizabeth's death, he still decided to do so. Sure, the argument could be made that he thought Elizabeth would be able to escape somehow, but the chances of her dying at sea, or some other terrible fate befalling her before she could safely make it back to civilization would have been highly likely. Of course we as an audience know that this isn't the case, but James does not. So essentially, James was so obsessed with his career, and maintaining the image of the honorable Commodore that he didn't even truly register that he was putting Elizabeth, the woman he loves and has been trying so desperately to woo for the past two movies, in danger. And he won't fully realize the consequences of his actions until the third movie, in a deleted scene no less(I swear when I find whoever decided to delete some of the most important scenes to James's character...), when Davy Jones informs Governor Swann of his daughters untimely demise on the Black Pearl. Of course, almost immediately afterwards, Beckett retcons that statement by informing the Governor that Elizabeth was recently seen in Singapore, but for a few minutes, James has to sit with the fact that Elizabeth was dead, and it was his fault. And even after learning that she was in fact still alive, James has now finally come to the realization that if she had still been on the Black Pearl when it sank with its Captain, he would've been the one to send her to her death. And for Sparrington shippers, James has to sit with the unavoidable fact that he was the reason Jack had died(even if the pirate does come back), despite the fact that it was Elizabeth's betrayal that was the final nail in Jack's coffin, since she wouldn't have had to do that if the Kraken wasn't after them in the first place. Which brings us to the final scene I'd like to discuss...

James choosing a side, and paying the price

Now, before we fully delve into this scene, I'd like to take a moment to talk about James's own perception of himself, and his relationship with honor and integrity. From the very first scene in which we meet James Norrington, we are made aware that he has a strong moral compass. He firmly believes piracy is evil, and that all who partake in piracy deserve a swift end. He perceives his Commodore persona as being the paragon of honor and integrity, and the sole arbiter of justice. We can infer from the line "By remembering that I serve others, Sparrow, not just myself" that James does have honorable intentions when ridding the world of pirates, that being protecting the innocent citizens under his care, but as seen once again in the first time James and Jack meet, wherein James adamantly tries to arrest Jack despite the fact the fact that pirate had just saved Elizabeth's life, his actions to achieve that goal are not always quite as honorable as his intentions are. This is especially highlighted once again when James gave Beckett the heart of Davy Jones. James's intentions here were once again rooted in honor and integrity - he believes that the only way to keep people safe from pirates is too return to his old station, to the image of honor and integrity he had built around the title of Commodore, and the only way to return to his old station is to give Beckett the heart. But the action itself was far from honorable, seeing as James had to betray the woman he loved just to obtain the heart, and that he was now putting it into the hands of a dangerously unstable individual who planned on using it to commit mass genocide.

And now, we finally get to the scene above... Of course, it's made clear throughout his scenes in the third movie leading up to this one that James is already starting to regret giving Beckett the heart after seeing the damage being caused, but since Beckett is targeting pirates specifically(although we as an audience know that Beckett's definition of pirate is very loose) James figures that the ends justify the means, as he often does in situations regarding piracy. It is not until his reunion with Elizabeth, where he learns that Governor Swann is dead, and that Beckett lied to him about the Governor's whereabouts, that James truly realizes the enormity of his mistake. It is in this moment that James has a sudden realization that fundamentally shakes him to his core, and is the reason behind his change of heart later on. He realizes that the honorable Commodore persona that he had tried to cultivate and keep a hold of for so long had never been truly honorable at all, and that by giving Beckett the heart of Davy Jones, he had effectively tied the noose around the neck of his own honor and integrity, as well as the necks of hundreds, if not thousands of innocent people, with his own hands. And as that one vine goes, this was the moment James knew, he fucked up. Which leads to his decision to change sides in an attempt to redeem himself, and his subsequent death in the process. Of course, part of James's reason for helping Elizabeth escape was that he does care for her, but given everything I've detailed about him so far, I think it's safe to say the main reason that James decided to help Elizabeth and her crew was because he wanted to undo the damage he had done, and he had faith that Elizabeth, Will, and Jack would have some sort of plan to defeat Beckett, and stop any further damage to come from his mistake. And now, for his death scene itself... As much as I love the idea of James surviving and joining the pirates(whether at Elizabeth's side or Jack's is unimportant), I firmly believe that his death was a necessary end of this part of his character arc, and that if he were to survive he would still have to go through a major ego death for this part of his character arc to end properly. Because as Bill turner drives that wooden pike into James's gut, it's not just the physical death of his body, but also the metaphorical death of Admiral James Norrington, and the ideals that James had used to build the persona out of. So even if James survived, the Admiral would still have to meet his metaphorical end, thusly causing James to lose a core part of himself that had been guiding most his decisions so far, in the process, which would start the next part of his character arc, where he would have to deal with the loss of a key part of his personality, and rebuild himself from the ground up to finally, truly become the image of honor and integrity he had envisioned from the beginning.

And that concludes this very long post. I could probably wax enough poetics about this aspect of James's character to write a short novel, but I've said everything important to this post, and if I go on any longer, I'm likely to start repeating myself lol. Thank you for reading, and feel free to share your thoughts in the comments or a reblog! I will always love hearing more about our polished peacock <3

#pirates of the caribbean #james norrington #jack sparrow #elizabeth swann #cutler beckett #davy jones #sparrington #norribeth #meta #potc meta #a character study of james norrington

186 notes · View notes

morallygreyyn · 7 months

Note

can we get a second part to do your duty pls?? not even just for the smut, i wanna see the reader grow soft for our boy <3

do your duty (omega!illumi x alpha!reader) (part 2)

description: omegaverse au where after you, a wealthy highborn, presented as an alpha, your parents immediately arranged for your marriage to illumi zoldyck, an omega, when you both came of age. as you began to resent the idea over the years, you had no idea that the allegedly haughty and indifferent illumi had begun to feel the opposite…

authors note: this is my favourite fic that i've ever written, no question. part 2 has been sitting in my drafts for just under a year at this point but i'm so glad i'm finally posting it

this fic will be turned into a full story very very soon (i've started writing it) so if you would like to be tagged when it's posted, please lmk! i'm so excited to be writing it as it gives a lot more depth to this fic that i randomly wrote one day because i was reading too much of the omegaverse genre - enjoy!

warnings: same as the last fic

word count: 7.6k (not proofread we die like men).

tag list (adding the people who commented on my last fic so sorry if you didn't want to be tagged!): @justyanderes @laylasbunbunny @expectroyalpurple @ladies-man217 @nai2fly

read part one here

requests are open! please read my rules!

You stood at the altar, fidgeting with your formal black attire. Surprisingly, you weren’t nervous, just more impatient to get this wedding over and done with. You couldn’t wait to get away from your family, from your intended family, from the prying eyes and expectations. Even if you had to drag Illumi away with you, it wasn’t all bad. At least he would also be somewhere he was appreciated.

His wedding necklace lay on an embroidered pillow, waiting to be clamped around the omega’s neck. It was a tradition within rich families for the alpha to claim their omega with a collar during the wedding ceremony, and a bite to the neck during the honeymoon. Any omega with both the necklace and mark was considered untouchable to other alphas.

A ridiculous tradition but one your families insisted on.

You took in your surroundings with a disinterested gaze. It seemed a wedding of this scale was bound to have a large audience. All of your close and distant family were sitting on one side of the aisle, your bride’s family on the other. You could see Illumi’s younger siblings sitting next to Kikyo and Silva, all dressed in their finest. Killua, the obvious family favourite and the heir to their fortune, was sitting between his parents looking for all the world as if he’d like nothing more than to leave. The rest of Illumi’s siblings wore similar expressions, with the exception of Alluka who just looked happy to be somewhere that wasn’t her house.

You had only a couple of brief interactions with your soon to be in-laws, but from what you could gather, it seemed all of the Zoldyck siblings had a screw loose. Being the eldest, you supposed Illumi had to bear the burden of each of his siblings and all of their unique oddities. Then again, it appeared as though your bride was perhaps the strangest of them all.

When the music started, your heart gave a minute jump. Perhaps you were nervous after all. Turning to face the doors at the opposite end of the aisle, you watched as they pulled apart, revealing your bride. One look at him was enough to knock the breath out of your lungs.

He was wearing white, forced by his family no doubt, and his pale skin almost matched the tone of the fabric. It was an impressive garment, truly fit for a bride of his calibre. His trousers, while tailored perfectly to his long and slim frame, were paired with an almost translucent, billowing shirt that flowed like water with each slight movement. Attached to the shoulders of his shirt was a matching sheer cape with gold and emerald details embroidered from the hem, branching upwards.

Turning your attention upwards, you noticed that his admittedly gorgeous long hair was coiled into a bun at the nape, with large gold needles holding it in place. An odd accessory to choose but it didn’t stand out as peculiar.

Illumi looked as if he was an omegan fairytale prince that alpha knights would slay dragons for. You wanted to laugh at the thought that his family was the dragon and your wedding attire was armour. Your wedding ring that was currently lying on a cushion could be your sword.

Focusing your attention back on your bride, you watched as Illumi’s eyes scanned the room, stopping briefly on his family. It didn’t take a genius to guess what he was thinking. Once his eyes found yours, they didn’t leave your gaze. You tried to give him a small smile in hopes to quell any fears he may or may not be feeling. If there was one thing to come from this marriage, it was that your bride had nothing to fear from you.

The music started up again, and Illumi made his walk down the aisle. He kept his head held high, portraying almost an aura of royalty. All eyes in the audience were on him and you knew he didn’t want to embarrass his family, so with his gaze firmly locked on you, he soldiered on past the people who raised him and headed straight towards where you waited.

It didn’t take long for Illumi to climb the steps that lead to the altar and soon enough, he had joined your side. You couldn’t believe he looked even more breathtaking up close.

“You look beautiful.” You murmured, low enough that he was the only one who heard. Illumi, to no one's surprise, didn’t reply. He just quietly stood beside you, surveying the venue. His scent was stronger today, no doubt a side effect of his upcoming heat. It was difficult to maintain a composed exterior when all you wanted to do was bury your face into his neck and drink in as much of the heady scent as you could.

This was going to be an incredible test of your self control.

On cue, Silva stood from his place in the audience and approached the vacant spot beside Illumi.

The minister approached the altar then, standing before the two of you. “Who gives this omega to this alpha?”

“I, Silva Zoldyck, give my son, Illumi, to this alpha.” Taking the omega’s hand, your soon to be father-in-law placed it in your waiting one. Ignoring the coldness of his fingers, you gently squeezed Illumi’s hand. Silva, having done his part, made his way back to his seat.

“Kneel omega and be brought under the alpha’s protection.”

Illumi dropped to his knees before you, cape and shirt fluttering as he lowered his head to expose his nape. Picking up the glorified collar and feeling the weight of it in your hands, you almost considered walking out then and there. If Illumi was to wear this everyday, surely he’d have neck problems before the year ended. However as everyone was watching, you didn’t even have time to pause. Your fingers brushed over the soft skin of his neck, and clamped the necklace into place, and if your fingers lingered longer than necessary, no one was able to tell. Nobody apart from one.

Illumi rose once you pulled away, his expression betraying nothing of his feelings, if he was feeling anything at all that is. His hand quickly fluttered to brush the foreign object around his neck, feeling its cold, emerald encrusted exterior. At least the green suited him.

It was customary for the omega to wear that necklace in public and you began to hate the stupid tradition that your families were determined to uphold. The saving grace was that Illumi would be yours, and therefore he wouldn’t be subject to anything he didn't want anymore. If your families wanted to follow tradition, then they couldn’t ignore the one that states that the omega belongs to their alpha before anyone else. Not even the Zoldycks themselves had the power that the spouse, now you, holds.

“May all people present today be witness to the union of y/n l/n and Illumi Zoldyck. Today it is their wish, and the will of their families, for them to be joined as one. One heart, one body, one mind, one soul.” The minister paused, and you felt the gravity of the situation sink in. This was really happening. Your fate, that was organised for you so many years ago, the one you thought you could outrun, had finally caught you. The minister turned to you then, not giving you a moment to lament your situation. “Do you, y/n l/n, take this omega to be your lawfully wedded wife and mate? Will you love him, comfort him and protect him? Will you honour and keep him, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?”

“I do.”

“Do you, Illumi Zoldyck, take this alpha to be your lawfully wedded husband and mate? Will you love them, comfort them and abide by them? Will you honour and obey them, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, be faithful to them as long as you both shall live?”

“I do.”

A small part of you was surprised at the utter lack of hesitation in Illumi’s response.

“May the alpha please stand before the omega and pronounce your vows.”

Taking a breath, you turned to face your bride. You didn’t need a sheet as you had thankfully memorised the vows you had written. Truthfully, you had much different vows a few days prior, however last night had you hastily scribbling new ones as you reeled from the events.

“I, y/n, take you, Illumi, to be my omega and these are my vows to you that I shall uphold until my last breath. I promise to put you first above all others, your needs and wants will always be a top priority to me. I vow to never turn you away or reject you. I promise to care for and protect you, and to always take your side should you need me to. I will always honour you and you will never be alone as I am now a part of you, just as you are now a part of me. Till death do us part.”

Illumi’s already wide eyes seemed to have opened slightly wider at your words, if that were possible. Perhaps he didn’t expect those vows to be made to him, or didn’t expect the sincerity behind them. Either way, it appeared as though a light flush was creeping up his neck though you couldn’t be sure due to the makeup that expertly covered his skin.

“May the omega stand before the alpha and pronounce your vows.”

Illumi didn’t have a sheet of paper either and you wondered if he had memorised his too. Then you questioned who exactly wrote his vows because you were sure his family would’ve had some input as to what he was supposed to promise.

“I, Illumi, take you, y/n, to be my alpha and these are my vows to you.” It was almost uncomfortable looking into the omega’s eyes as he began reciting his vows, it felt as though these were for your ears alone and all others present in the room were unwelcome.

You almost missed what he said as you were too shocked at what was happening. Your omega was promising to obey you, care for you, provide support where you needed it, and all you could focus on was the frantic race of your heart. How ironic that you needed support now at this moment.

You gave him a small smile once he had finished, providing some proof that you had been paying attention. Something had shifted in his eyes, they looked slightly less lifeless.

“Does anyone present today reject the union of these two souls?” Not a single sound could be heard and you didn’t expect to find yourself relieved, but you couldn’t deny that you were. The minister then asked for the rings, signalling that your ceremony was coming to a close and so was your free life. Though you could argue that it was never free to begin with.

“With this ring, I thee wed.”

“With this ring, I thee wed.” You repeated, swiftly slipping the wedding ring onto his slender finger, giving his cold hands a light squeeze. You weren’t sure, but you imagined he squeezed back. Then Illumi repeated the same steps, sliding your metaphorical sword onto your finger.

Your fate was sealed. Staring at your new wife, you struggled to comprehend the complex emotions that were surging through you.

“By the authority vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife, y/n and Illumi l/n!” Then the minister turned to you, shaking you out of your shock at hearing Illumi having your surname for the first time. You had forgotten about that part. “You may now kiss your bride.”

Illumi closed his eyes and waited, and you realised with a start that he was following your instructions from the night before. Immensely glad that you had already practised, you couldn’t help the small smile as you pressed your lips against his. All the kisses you previously shared flashed through your mind and it was almost impossible to keep it as a chaste kiss, you wanted very much to explore the omega’s mouth the way you did last night. By some miracle, you managed to restrain yourself as sophisticated applause rang out throughout the venue.

Hand in hand, you both turned to face your now joined families. You could feel Illumi’s fingers warming under your touch as you both gazed out at the families who had forced you into this situation. Surprisingly, you felt as though you had gained some power rather than having lost some like you had previously expected. You glanced over at your wife who was looking at his family, something deeper lingering in his usual blank stare. You could only begin to understand what he must be feeling right now. Giving his hand a reassuring squeeze, you smiled slightly as he turned to face you.

“We made it.” You whispered as your family ushered you outside the venue to meet the photographer who was in charge of your wedding photos.

Illumi nodded, seemingly unable to find his voice. Subconsciously, you felt yourself grip his hand tighter as you were both suddenly caught up in the drama of arranging family members for the photos.

“Now time for the newlyweds, alone.” The photographer said after what felt like a thousand clicks of the camera, waiting until your surrounding family members filed out of his shot.

Noticing that there was a slight gap between you, you gently pulled the omega towards you. You could feel Illumi jump slightly at the arm you wrapped around his thin waist.

“Sorry.” You murmured, stepping closer to him like the photographer asked.

“It’s okay.” He replied, not looking away from the lens.

Unsatisfied with that response, you leaned to whisper in his ear. “If ever you’re uncomfortable with me touching you, please let me know.”

“I’m not uncomfortable.” It seemed as though Illumi wanted to say more, but he restrained himself for reasons unknown to you.

Unwilling to pry, you left it there. “If you’re sure.”

A couple clicks of the camera later, the photographer still seemed unsatisfied with the results.

“Maybe we’re not photogenic enough for him.” You mused, watching with humour as the man fiddled with the focus.

“Or he needs a new lens.”

Chuckling, you turned to face your new wife, photos be damned. You hadn’t expected your wife to be funny, albeit unintentionally.

Illumi turned his head to look at you, lips parted ever so slightly, seemingly shocked by your reaction to something he said. Perhaps no one had ever given him the reaction you just had.

Just then you heard the click of a camera, the photographer's astounded voice following soon after. “That looks perfect! We’re finished!”

Without getting the chance to breathe a sigh of relief, you both were then ushered into a side room to fill out your marriage paperwork while the guests made their way back to your family estate where the reception was to be held. You didn’t even get to utter a word to your new wife as you were both relentlessly hounded into signing sheet after sheet of paperwork by the administrator. Barely having time to process what you were signing, you took what felt like your first breath once you left the room and headed outside.

Illumi diligently followed, matching your steps in silence, heels clicking as he walked.

“I’m amazed you even made it down the aisle wearing those.” You commented, looking at those injury promising shoes.

“They’re not as high as some shoes mother wears.”

“Really?”

Illumi hummed in response, watching as you opened the car door for him. Quickly making sure his attire didn’t get caught underneath him or in the car door, you closed the door and swiftly got into the driver's seat. Pulling away from the venue, you begrudgingly turned onto the main road that would take you home for the reception.

“Maybe now’s the time to run away.” You grumbled after a while, breaking the tense silence between the two of you.

“Why would we do that?”

“Do you really want to spend an evening with our families with us as the centre of attention?” Feeling like it was necessary, you took his empty hand into your free one.

“Not particularly.” Turning away from the window, he stared at your interlocked hands and then at you. “Where would we go?”

Happy your bride was playing along, you cast him a mischievous glance. “Hmm, let’s see. Somewhere far away, preferably warm too. Does anywhere come to mind?”

Illumi shook his head. “I’ve never been anywhere other than my home and yours so I wouldn’t know where to go.”

“Then that makes running away an even greater adventure.” You squeezed his hand and then brushed your thumb over his knuckles. “Perhaps a beach resort on a far away island, or a cabin nestled in mountain woodland? Or how about a skyscraper hotel in a bustling city? Or a cruise ship that takes us to famous tourist spots all over the world?”

Illumi blinked, looking a smidge shocked at all of the options you were suggesting. “All of them.”

“All of them it is.” You laughed, giving him a rare, genuine smile and to your utter bafflement, he offered a small one in return.

You almost stopped the car. Never in a million years did you think your bride had the capability to smile but here he was. Granted, it was barely there, a mere tug at the corners of his lips, but it was there nonetheless.

Careful not to break the mood, you pretended you weren’t floored by his expression and went back to discussing becoming runaways. Before long and before you were ready, you pulled up to your manor.

You sighed, wishing you could put the many plans you made in the car into action. “Are you ready for this?”

“It’s only a couple of hours.” He nodded, looking out of the window to the unavoidable party that awaited you. “Then we’ll be on our honeymoon.”

“Our first grand escapade.” You chuckled as you got out of the car, ignoring the fact that you’d have to deal with Illumi’s heat for a portion of it. You circled around the vehicle and opened the door for your new wife. Taking his hand, you helped him stand in those treacherous looking high heels.

Once he was standing, it was only then that you noticed the proximity. Face inches away, Illumi’s flat gaze was locked on yours.

“Screw them, they can wait another five minutes.” Wrapping an arm around his waist, you pulled Illumi in for a much less innocent kiss than the one you gave him at the altar.

You supposed that his upcoming heat was to blame for his whisper of a whine. Nonetheless, it spurred you on. However it was only a couple of seconds later before Illumi pulled away, though it seemed with poorly veiled reluctance.

“We need to go inside.”

Groaning, you dropped your head onto his shoulder, unable to help yourself from breathing in more of that addictive scent. “It’s not too late, we can still jump in the car.”

“We can later.”

Begrudgingly, you lifted your head and held out your hand. "Let’s get this over with then.”

Nodding, your bride quickly took your hand and you both made your way inside. The sound of applause was the first thing that greeted you, choruses of congratulations rang out from the many guests in attendance.

“There they are!” Your father announced, approaching you with the rest of your beaming family in tow. Illumi’s family also made their way in front of you, looking a little relieved that you had actually gone through with the wedding.

“You’re just in time for the banquet.” Your mother ushered the two of you through the halls and outside to the grounds which had been turned into a wedding reception fit for royalty.

Extravagant tents had been pitched with many tables and chairs for all your guests situated underneath. Strings of warm fairy lights hung from the ceiling, mixed with garlands of flowers. There was even a dance floor and a couple of chandeliers.

Taking your seats at the head table, you watched as everyone else found their places. Your parents sat at the same table as you, yours on your side and Illumi’s on his. It didn’t take long for everyone to be seated, however you did find it a bit funny that some people were hidden due to the giant bouquets adorning every table.

“Attention please.” Your mother called and almost immediately there was silence. “I would like to give a huge congratulations to y/n and my new son in law, Illumi. We welcome you with open arms into this family and wish you a very happy marriage. With that, I’d like us all to raise a toast to the newlyweds. To y/n and Illumi l/n!”

You didn’t think you’d ever get used to hearing that. Absently, you wondered what Illumi thought of his new name.

The banquet was a boring affair. Multiple dishes were put in front of you, each more elaborate than the last. Buzzing chatter from the attendees filled the air, even your parents eagerly chatted to the Zoldycks. It seemed as if you and your omega were the only silent ones.

Determined not to be the odd ones out at your own wedding, you turned to Illumi, making sure to keep your voice low so you couldn’t be overheard. “So, have you thought anymore about where you’d like to go?”

The omega looked at you, seemingly happy enough to be speaking with you and not part of the larger conversation that was happening at your table. “I keep trying but I can’t picture anything.”

“That’s probably because you don’t know what you like yet.” You tapped your chin in mock sympathy. “I’m afraid there’s only one cure for that.”

“What’s that?”

You grinned. “We have to keep travelling until you do know.”

“Okay.” Illumi nodded, apparently liking the sound of your suggestion.

Toasts came after the food and you all but blacked out during most of the speeches, most being the same with well wishes, future children, and inheritance. It was decided before, with heavy backing on your part, that neither you or Illumi would have to make a speech. You said everything that needed to be said in front of family during your vows. Anything else was for your bride’s ears only.

You leaned towards him, lips almost touching his ear. “Was that as boring for you as it was for me?”

Your wife agreed with a bob of his head. “They were all the same.”

“I guess money and children is all we’re good for.” You joked humourlessly, hating the truth to it. “How I would hate to disappoint them.”

“You sound as though you would love nothing more.”

Laughing lightly, you smiled mischievously at Illumi. “Perhaps I would.”

You were brought out of your scheming by your father announcing that the banquet was over and it was time for the first dance.

Groaning internally, you took Illumi’s hand and led him to the centre of the dance floor. You could not only feel your nerves, but you imagined you could feel his too. Dancing? Neither of you had practiced that. Granted, you should’ve expected to dance at your own wedding, but in your defence, you didn’t want to think about it much until today. Vaguely remembering the ballroom dance lessons your mother insisted you take in your younger years, you somehow managed to get both you and your bride into position.

“Do you know what you’re doing?” He whispered as you both waited for the music to start.

“Not a clue, I’m just going with it.” You could see Illumi’s shoulders oddly relax at your words and once the music started, you guided him around the dance floor. Stiff in the beginning, you both began to get the hang of it more and more and soon enough, you were both gliding across the floor. You even chanced it by spinning you both around, Illumi’s cape swirling around you like a ripple of water.

Once the music stopped, everyone applauded and joined you on the dance floor as the music started up again in a continuous loop.

“Looks like we survived.” You panted, struggling to regain your breath. You were only stepping together now, both coming down from the extravagant display you put on.

“Somehow.” Illumi looked at your joint hands, seemingly lost in thought. However, just when you were about to ask, your mother cut in.

“It’s time for the parent dances.”

Ah, you had forgotten that you would be dancing with your mother, and Illumi with his father. Reluctant to let go, you suppressed a sigh and you took your mother’s hand and guided her around the dance floor. Out of the corner of your eye, you could see Illumi watching you leave until his father approached.

“It looked like those dance lessons you took came in handy.” Your mother remarked, pleased to be proven right. “I told you they would and yet you still complained.”

“Yes mother, thanks to you I didn’t make a bumbling fool of myself and my bride.”

She hummed and her smug expression stayed in place for a while until it dropped abruptly.

“It will be a lot quieter without you now.” Her voice was softer, as if she had just realised that she was losing her child today. “Take good care of your omega, we’re quite high maintenance. It takes a lot to keep us happy.”

Actually smiling, you kissed your mother’s cheek. While your family did many things that you disagreed with, your mother wasn’t entirely bad all of the time. “Just say you’ll miss me and be done with it.”

She didn’t hesitate to playfully smack the upside of your head before giving you a serious, pointed look. “Just make sure his needs are met.”

Ah, so she also knew about how Illumi was raised. “I will.”

“I know you will, I raised you right.” She spoke proudly. “Also, I know where you’re going for your honeymoon.”

Neither you or Illumi knew where you were going so it came as a shock for your mother to bring it up so soon. “You do? Where is it?”

“Of course I do, I’m the one who organised it.” She smiled at your eager expression. “We have the family run beach resort which you seem to have forgotten about.”

“The beach resort? As in the island beach resort a couple of miles out to sea?” You stared at her, flashing back to your hopeful conversation in the car a couple of hours ago.

“The very one.”

A whole month by the beach, on an island, away from your families. You couldn’t have asked for anything more than that. “Illumi will be overjoyed to hear that.”

“Will he? I never know what that boy is thinking.”

You laughed, understanding that feeling all too well. “Neither do I but I better start figuring it out.”

“Yes, you should.” Suddenly her gaze shifted past your shoulder. You followed her gaze to where your father stood at the edge of the tent, beckoning you over. “Your father wants to speak to you.”

“This can’t be good.”

“Regardless, don’t forget what I said.” Your mother smoothed your attire, looking more lost than you’d ever seen her in your life. “You did so well, I’m so incredibly proud of you.”

You were frozen, unable to comprehend the words you had never heard directed at you throughout your whole life. “You are?”

“Of course. Look at the responsible alpha you’ve become, how could I not be?” She kissed the top of your forehead before letting you go. “Don’t forget about me in this new chapter of your life, okay? Feel free to take me and your bride out shopping any time.”

Laughing once, you bid your mother goodbye before making your way over to your less favourable parent.

“Father.” You greeted, walking with him out of the tent and onto the grounds. It was night now which made the fairy lights seem all that more inviting.

“Y/n, I trust you’re enjoying your wedding.”

“I am.” You were surprised that your response wasn’t a total lie.

“And your bride?”

“Is probably enjoying it just as much. Speaking of, I haven’t seen him in a while so if you’ll excuse me I should probably get back to him.”

Before you could make your getaway, your father spoke again. “One moment.”

“Yes?” You feigned politeness through gritted teeth.

“After your honeymoon, I expect news of an heir.”

“What?” Somehow, you had almost forgotten about that crucial part. How stupid of you.

“You will do your duty to this family and put an alpha child in that omega as soon as possible.”

Oh you didn’t like his tone one bit.

“That omega is now my wife and therefore a part of this family. You will show him respect.” You couldn’t hold back the sneer if you tried. The way he spoke about your omega had you seeing red. “I will put a child in him if he so wishes and he does, so rest assured, our family will have heirs.”

Your father made a move to reply but you cut him off before he could. “Also, his name is Illumi and he’s now your son-in-law.”

You didn’t bother sticking around to see your father’s face, and you quickly retreated to where you knew you could be alone for a moment. Slipping away from the reception and into the manor, you successfully made it to your room. Throwing open the doors to the balcony, you had a wonderful view of your wedding reception which you had abandoned. Closing your eyes, you quietly listened to the sound of the merriment that you couldn’t bring yourself to be a part of.

Surprisingly, it hadn’t been all bad. You had even enjoyed some parts of your wedding. It was just a shame that your father had to bring you crashing back down to earth.

A child? You weren’t sure you were ready for that just yet. There were still so many things you wanted to do that would become a lot more difficult if you had a child to worry about.

You spent a few minutes wallowing until the sound of heels could be heard approaching from the hall.

“Y/n?” A muffled voice called from behind the door, the only one you wouldn’t turn away.

“Out here, Illumi.” The door to your room pushed open and your bride stood in the doorway, looking at you with that same unreadable expression.

He slowly made his way into your room, drawing closer to you. “Why are you hiding?”

“My father was getting on my nerves.” You admitted, resting your forearms against the railing. “They’re already hounding me about putting an ‘alpha baby’ in you.”

He nodded, as if that made complete sense to him. “I need to produce heirs.”

“No.” You shook your head, hating that your mate was brainwashed into thinking that bearing children was his duty. “You’re mine now. You don’t have to answer to them anymore, not if you don’t want to.”

“I know, I obey you.”

“Not if you don’t want to, Illumi.”

“I want to, I made a vow.”

“A vow your family wrote no doubt.”

“I wrote my own vows.” He whispered, as if unsure he should be revealing this information.

Baffled, you turned to face him with wide eyes. “You did?”

“My parents checked over them, but yes.”

“Then why did you write that one?”

“Because I want to obey you.” You were so sure he’d leave it there, but to your shock, Illumi kept speaking. “You’re my alpha and someone who has my best interests in mind.”

He moved to stand beside you, heels clicking against the marble flooring.

“And that's a good enough reason to obey my every word?”

“I also know you’ll put me and our future children first.”

You snorted. “Still not seeing how this adds up.”

Then your omega did something you never expected to happen twice in a lifetime, let alone twice in one day. Giving you a small, half smile, you had to strain your ears to hear his soft whisper. “I know that you’ll never do anything to harm me.”

It was obviously quite challenging for Illumi to say such a thing as his expression quickly shifted back into one of indifference, but for a brief fleeting moment, you felt as though you had cracked through his impenetrable armour. It was clear that his parents didn’t care for their oldest child, and you wondered to what extent did that mental, emotional and physical abuse scar the boy before you. Being touch starved was about the extent of your knowledge and you shuddered to think about what other things your mate must be dealing with.

You nodded, unable to stop yourself from wrapping your arm over his shoulders and bringing the omega into your side. “You’ll always be safe with me. I'll take care of you.”

You couldn’t stop the mushy words from leaving your mouth even if you tried. You supposed it was the injustice he had faced, you couldn’t help but want to shield him from it all. Perhaps you really were a knight in shining armour come to save the prince.

“Will you?” His voice was quieter than you had ever heard it before. Maybe his upcoming heat was affecting him more than he let on? If this is what he was like before his heat, you wondered with abject fascination at what he would be like during.

Hooking a finger under his chin, you tilted his head up. Once your eyes locked, you gave your bride a lopsided grin. “I made a vow.”

Illumi took a sharp intake of breath, an uncertain hand slowly coming up to rest on your one. You caressed his cheek, unable to stop yourself from marvelling at his unique beauty. It still hadn’t settled in yet that this was your wife. He now bore your last name. He was your omega. Illumi was yours. Yours.

Perhaps his heat was starting to affect you too.

You could feel Illumi leaning into your touch, as if he was desperate for it. You could also sense his hesitation, unsure what to do with the attention he was receiving, clearly not used to it like an omega should be. You would be sure to fix that. It may take several years, and perhaps all the damage done could never be erased, but you would try your very best to help him through it. Your own private vow to him that didn’t need hundreds of witnesses to hear it. Just one was enough.

“From now on, if you ever feel like you need me for anything, don’t hesitate to ask, okay? Even the smallest of things.” You whispered as you leaned in, unable to bear the thought of someone overhearing. “I promise, I will always be by your side to help you through it.”

Guiding his chin upwards, you brought your lips to his. It was meant to be a simple reassurance kiss however when Illumi so eagerly opened his mouth for you, all innocent notions flew out the window, so to speak. Pulling Illumi flush against your body, you deepened the kiss.

He desperately clutched the front of your shirt, as if you were some kind of lifeline. You could feel yourself doing the same, your grip tightening around his waist, ensuring there was no gap between you. You couldn’t explain how you felt, even if you tried.

From not wanting to be married and pretending as if your bride didn’t exist, to wanting nothing more than him being safe in your arms; your emotions were almost giving you whiplash.

But you didn’t have time to focus on that, not when Illumi was making breathy little moans in your mouth. His whines and whimpers, while still quiet, were a little more audible today. Another side effect of his heat.

Before you both passed the point of no return, you reluctantly broke away. “We better go back down.”

“Can we stay up here for a while longer?” Came a barely audible response, as though he was daring to ask for something unattainable, something he wasn’t allowed.

You were shocked he would even suggest such a thing. “Why?”

He hesitated, unwilling to say too much.

“Illumi?” You tried catching his gaze, wanting to know what thoughts he was locking away. “What’s wrong?”

“You might be stolen away again.” You could’ve sworn his grip on your shirt tightened. “I...”

“What?”

“I don’t want that.”

You would have laughed at the situation if it weren’t for your new wife finally showing some vulnerability. Perhaps his heat was a considerable factor in why he wasn’t as tight-lipped. “Are you possessed?”

“No, I think my heat is already affecting me.” Bingo.

“Ah, so you’ll say what you really think only when you’re about to go into a heat cycle. Got it.” You teased, shooting him a half grin. “Don’t fret, you’re the only one I want to dance with anyway.”

He caught your gaze then, almost too innocent with the way his flat eyes locked with yours. “Really?”

You smiled, resting your forehead against his. “You’re my bride and this is our wedding. Of course you are.”

“Oh.” Came his response.

You stroked his cheek, loving the way he subconsciously leaned into your touch. “Just a couple more minutes then.”

Standing behind him, you wrapped your arms around Illumi’s narrow waist and looked out at the festivities below.

“Honestly,” You whispered after a couple moments of silence. “This wasn’t nearly as bad as I was expecting. Even dancing with my mother was somewhat enjoyable.”

“I enjoyed dancing with you.” Illumi’s voice matched yours. “Even if you are terrible at it.”

“I’m not that bad! I got us through it, didn’t I?”

“I suppose.”

“You suppose.” You huffed, resting your head on Illumi’s. “How does it feel now that your surname isn’t Zoldyck anymore?”

“It feels weird.” He paused, considering his words. “But not in a bad way.”

“Weird in a good way? You’re happy to have my last name?”

“Yes.”

“Huh.” You didn’t want to say how happy that made you. You didn’t even know the reason why. “Nice.”

Illumi let out a breath that almost resembled a laugh.

“You seem a lot less guarded today.”

“Would you prefer me the other way?” He seemed to ask this honestly, as if he truly wanted to know.

“Absolutely not, I’m quite happy with you like this.”

“I see.”

You left it at that, closing your eyes and feeling the summer breeze that carried the sound of festivities with it. An odd sense of calmness washed over you, one you hadn’t expected to feel in this situation but it was welcome nonetheless. Illumi seemed a lot less rigid in your arms, as though he had finally found a safe place where he could finally, finally let the mask fall.

Maybe you could get used to this after all.

“We really need to go back down there now.” You sighed after a couple of minutes that felt more like seconds, not really wanting this quiet moment to end.

“I suppose we must.” Illumi didn’t move from his position in your arms, nor did you make any effort to remove them.

You chuckled and finding the will to step away, you held out your hand to your new wife, offering him a rare genuine smile. “Let’s rejoin the celebrations. We are the main event after all.”

Heading back downstairs and outside, it was almost as if you had never left at all. The celebrations were still in full swing by the time you spun Illumi back onto the dance floor. As promised, you held on tightly to your omega and didn’t even consider dancing with anyone else who wasn’t him.

A couple of songs had passed before you remembered your previous conversation with your mother. “Oh, I know where we’re going for our honeymoon.”

“Where?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“It’s not a surprise if you know.”

“I meant it’s a surprise for you.”

“But I want to know.”

“You’ll know soon enough.” You chuckled, spinning your bride before pulling him back in. “But I can give you a hint.”

“Please tell me where it is.”

It was incredibly difficult not to tell him then and there, but you held firm to your silly little game. “One hint, take it or leave it.”

He huffed slightly, giving in to your ridiculous behaviour. “Fine, what’s the hint?”

“I mentioned it earlier today in the car.”

“But you mentioned hundreds of places.” He protested and you could almost see a slight pout forming.

“Mhm, you did say you wanted to try them all.”

“How am I supposed to narrow it down?”

Your grin turned evil. “You’re not.”

Before he could retort, you pulled Illumi in for a kiss. Smiling at the small noise of surprise he made, you quickly pulled away again. Your good mood soured when you noticed who was getting closer to where you were.

“It’s almost time for you to leave for your honeymoon.” Your new mother-in-law approached, giving you a warm smile before turning to her son. “You must change before you go, follow me.”

“I’ll see you soon.” You whispered to him, placing the ghost of a kiss against his cheek before he was whisked away to change into more suitable travel attire. Your only issue was that Illumi was to be alone with his mother and who knows what sort of nonsense she was going to fill his head with. At least you’d be able to rebuke it now.

You also quietly slipped away to get changed. Having previously set out travel clothes the night before, it didn’t take long until you were back under the fairy lights waiting for your omega. You passed the time talking to some distant relatives, only partially listening to the conversation as you eagerly counted down the seconds until you could leave. You didn’t have to wait long until Illumi returned, side by side with his mother, in flowy clothes, save for his wedding necklace, that seemed a lot more comfortable than what he was wearing a few moments prior.

You watched him as his disinterested gaze scanned the crowd, actively seeking you out. Watched him as he spotted you and looked for all the world as though he wanted nothing more than to run to your side. Before he could move towards you however, his mother caught him by the arm and whispered something harshly in his ear. Illumi nodded and pulled away.

“What was that about?” You asked when he approached, automatically wrapping an arm around his waist.

He just shook his head, clearly unwilling to give the details now. You made a mental note to ask later.

Car packed and ready to go, you were ushered towards the driveway by the rest of your family. Clapping and cheering filled the night as you helped your bride into the car, and finally pulled away from the place you called home.

It was an odd feeling, driving away from your childhood manor to start a new life. Granted, it wasn’t one you had chosen but something told you it wasn’t bad. Sneaking a glance at Illumi, you decided that perhaps this was almost something you would have wanted for yourself, without the family duty aspect.

“Can I get another hint?” Illumi broke the silence first, seemingly thinking very hard about where you were driving to.

You laughed at his helpless tone as you turned onto the main road that would take you to the docks. “Fine, I can’t drive the entire way there.”

“You can’t?” Illumi’s nose scrunched slightly, brain working on overdrive in attempts to figure out where his first adventure would take place.

“Nope.” You were still chuckling as you relished in the odd glow this day had filled you with, feeling lighter and freer than you had in years. Taking your wife’s hand, you began the long journey to the coast.

“How are we going to get there?”

“Ah ah, that’s more than one hint.”

He paused, contemplating the options. “Are we going by rocket?”

You couldn’t help it. His innocent tone had you thrown into a fit of laughter. You had no idea your bride was able to crack jokes, albeit accidentally.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing.” You had to calm down and focus on the road. It wouldn’t do to die before your honeymoon. “No, we’re not going by rocket. Hate to break it to you but we are limited to this planet.”

The omega hummed and looked out of the window. He then very quickly realised that he couldn’t see much in the dead of night.

When did Illumi get so cute? Or was he always like this and you just never noticed? He certainly wasn’t like this around his family, that much you were certain about. A delicate, warm feeling settled over you at the thought that maybe, just maybe, he was like this only with you. That he was comfortable enough that you wouldn’t judge, yell or reprimand him if he put a toe out of line.

You felt yourself grip his hand tighter.

204 notes · View notes

peachesyeo · 1 month

Text

The Maestro The Others

word count - 3k words pairings - seventeen ot13 x fem!oc genre - mature, dark romance, cultish/yandere, mystery , crack chapter warnings - none

author's notes - this is also posted on ao3! lalali m/v killed lots of people, (esp. mingyu's jacuzzi(?) part, boy know what he's doing) and i simply adore vernon's outfit!

thank you @sousydive for beta reading!

series taglist — @seungkwanschicken pernament taglist — @sousydive @yeodeulz @oddracha @jaerisdiction @yukichan67 @evidive @onysmamas

back to masterlist?

Dear Mr. [REDACTED],

We have received news of your newborn child. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to you and your wife for her safe delivery. Please be reminded of your promise with us, and we trust that you will fulfill it.

Sincerely,

The Residents of the Maestro

When I finished packing, it was already seven. I decided to change into a pair of casual outfits - a simple white tee with black jeans. As I tied my hair up into a neat ponytail, I couldn’t help but feel nervous about the dinner later. Would it be rude of me to show up empty-handed? It is my first time visiting; I want to leave a good impression.

I glanced around the apartment, searching for something I could bring. Spotting a vase on the counter, I quickly grabbed it and rushed to the balcony, plucking a few fresh flowers from the potted plants. I made a simple bouquet, placing them on the coffee table.

I hope they don’t mind flowers, the owner of 301.

The doorbell rang again, and I hurriedly checked my outfit in the mirror one last time before rushing to the door. “Coming!” I called, opening it to find Soonyoung standing there, a familiar bright grin on his face.

“Hi! Shua hyung told me to come and pick you up. Oh, and to pass you this…” Soonyoung grinned.

“Hi, Hoshi, thank you,” I said, taking the file. “Are we going to 301?”

“Yeah, to Mingyu’s.” Soonyoung's grin widened. His gaze lingered on my outfit. “Nice fashion sense, you dress like Kwannie. He lives in 401, by the way,” he added, his voice light and casual.

Jeonghan, Chan, Mingyu, Kwannie... How many people live in this strange apartment complex? “I see… I'll put this down,” I said, rushing to put the document on the coffee table. Taking the bouquet, I went back to Soonyoung. “Let's go…”

“Hang on, let's go with Hoonie and Dokyeom,” Soonyoung said, noticing the bouquet in my hands. “That’s a nice bouquet.”

Hoonie and Dokyeom, that’s two more names. Adding the three men and the four names earlier, there must be more than ten residents here. “Thank you… I didn’t want to show up empty-handed…”

“I’m sure Mingyu would appreciate it,” Soonyoung said kindly. I walked alongside him to the corridor on the other side of the elevator. The both of us stopped in front of the apartment door labelled 203.

Something about the atmosphere felt off, as if there was an underlying current of secrecy that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Soonyoung knocked on the door, shouting. “Hoon? Are you done?” he called out.

Silence followed, broken only by the sound of approaching footsteps. Soon, a pale figure wearing a grey hoodie and sweatpants opened the door. He shared the same almond eyes as Hoshi, framed by long lashes. Despite the gentle flush to his cheeks, there was a coldness in his gaze, as if he were distant, detached. It gave him the appearance of a strawberry mochi with a frosty exterior.

He eyed me silently, before casting a questioning glance at Soonyoung, silently demanding an explanation. Soonyoung pulled him out in front of him, turning to me. “This is Lee Jihoon. Hoonie, this is Raeyang, the new resident in 201.”

“Are we doing introductions now?” A sudden voice joined from behind me. I jumped again, turning to see a tall blonde man shutting the door of 204. His eyes were round and lively, sparkling with a mischievous glint.

Beneath his straight and well-defined nose, his lips were full and curved into a wide, charming smile, revealing a set of perfectly aligned teeth. “Oh, you must be the new neighbour, Kang Raeyang, right?” he exclaimed warmly. I nodded, and he shot me a cheeky wink. “Hi, I’m Lee Seokmin, you can call me Dokyeom. Don’t worry about Jihoon, he looks distant but he’s a huge softie-”

“Kyeom, shut up,” Jihoon muttered, scowling at Seokmin. I looked to Soonyoung for help, but he seemed entertained by the turns of events. “Now, don’t fight, you know Cheol hyung would be annoyed…”

“Not fighting,” Jihoon avoided my eyes. “Hi, welcome to the family,” he murmured, closing his door and heading towards the elevator. Soonyoung nudged me with a grin, gesturing me to follow after Jihoon. Seokmin caught up to me, sending me a friendly smile.

“I heard about your parents,” he started, his tone friendly yet with a hint of something peculiar. “I’m sorry about them. They were nice.”

“You know my parents? Oh, right. They owned this building.” The bitterness from earlier seemed to creep back into my heart. As we waited for the elevator, Seokmin patted my shoulder, his smile unwaveringly warm but his touch lingering a bit longer than usual. “Well, Raeyang. We don’t keep secrets here, so I can assure you that Shua really told you everything he knows.”

“Dokyeom’s right,” Soonyoung agreed, his cheerful demeanour not faltering, but there was something in his eyes that seemed to hint at a deeper understanding. Seokmin retrieved his hand while Jihoon leaned on the wall with his arms crossed, his expression unreadable.

“Over here, everyone knows everything about everyone. No one has a secret. We’re a big family. Right, Hoonie?” Soonyoung nudged Jihoon, who was still avoiding my gaze. He nodded silently at Soonyoung's cue.

Just as I opened my mouth to speak, the elevator arrived with a ‘ding’. The doors opened, revealing a young man standing inside. He looked like he stepped out of a painting; his eyes were like pools of liquid silver, framed by long lashes that gave him a dreamy, otherworldly gaze. His nose was straight and slender, leading down to lips that were soft and inviting. His hair was tied up into a short ponytail, and when he spoke, his voice was soft and angelic.

“Oh? What a coincidence.” His lips curled. Jihoon inclined his head at him, while Seokmin and Soonyoung greeted him loudly. “Jeonghan hyung!”

So this is the Jeonghan that was supposed to show me around earlier. Jeonghan stepped aside, allowing the four of us to enter the elevator. “Hello, Raeyang, I am Yoon Jeonghan,” he introduced himself with a slight tilt of his head, his voice soft. “I apologise for not being able to show you around earlier, I was busy. Nice bouquet you have there, by the way.”

As the elevator door closed, his eyes seemed to glint with a hidden emotion. I could feel the heat rising to my face as I shook my head. “Thank you.. And no, it’s okay. Seungcheol showed me around,” I said, hoping that Jeonghan wouldn’t notice the blush on my face.

But Jeonghan laughed lightly, “I know he didn’t, Raeyang. You don’t even know where the letterbox is,” he said casually, his tone lying with a hint of… anger? “But maybe I can show you around tomorrow, Raeyang. How does that sound to you?”

“Sure…” I replied, feeling a chill run down my spine as the air in the lift turned colder than usual. Suddenly, it felt suffocating to be standing right next to Jeonghan. The elevator stopped, saving me from the silent tension. I quickly exited, eager to escape his unsettling presence.

There were two unfamiliar faces standing in the middle of the lobby. One of them was a tall, thin man with a black mullet. He wore a thin brown button-up with black pants, and his feet were clad in comfortable sandals. The other man had silver hair and was dressed in a simple hoodie, paired with grey sweatpants and running shoes.

Once again, why are they all so good-looking?

“Minghao! Hansollie! What are the two of you doing outside?” Seokmin called out loudly, gaining their attention.

I silently switched my position to stand beside Jihoon instead, feeling safer with him than with Jeonghan. Jihoon gave me a weird look, and I returned a smile back to him. He paused, his eyes widening a little before turning away from me.

“Ah, hyungs.” The man with the silver hair spoke. He looks mixed, with fair skin and a pair of light, hazel eyes. “We were just waiting for Kwan and Jun hyung.” His brows raised when he saw me. “Is this the new neighbour?”

“Yeah. Raeyang, this is Vernon, or Hansol, his Korean name. That’s Minghao,” the thin man with the mullet tilted his head at me. It was then I realised that his eyes were actually electrifying blue. “Hello.”

“Hello, Miss Raeyang.” Minghao’s voice is surprisingly soft. Vernon, on the other hand, nodded at me. “What’s up?” He said coolly. I gave him an awkward smile, the goosebumps once again rising up my arm. “Erm, I’m all good?”

“That’s nice to know.” Vernon’s features crinkled into a smile as he raised a thumbs up at me. Seokmin clapped him on his back, while Soonyoung hung an arm over Minghao’s shoulder. “Should we go in first? I wanna introduce Raeyang.” Soonyoung grinned, while Vernon seemed unfazed. “You guys can go in first. Jeonghan hyung, Kwan asked for you too.” He said, before his gaze fell on me again. “I believe Mingyu hyung would be very happy to see a new face.”

Minghao cleared his throat, and for a moment he seemed to be struggling to speak. “Is… Is that bouquet of flowers for Mingyu?” Minghao pressed his lips together, after he had spoken. I nodded in response, and he quickly looked away, not speaking another word. I blinked, not understanding his reaction.

“Alright then, let’s go, Raeyang!” Seokmin, seemingly noticing the rising awkwardness, let go of Vernon, beckoning me. Jihoon muttered something under his breath as he quickly walked past me to the corridor. I quickly followed in his footsteps, while Seokmin and Soonyoung trailed behind me. Feeling a nod on my shoulder, I turned my head around. Seokmin gave me an apologetic grin. “Sorry about Minghao, he’s not really good at socialising.”

“Ah, no, I wasn’t offended or anything.” I said quickly, waving my hands in front of my chest. Seokmin patted his own. “Thank goodness, a lot of people thought Hao had an attitude. He’s nice, he’s just a little introverted-”

“We’re here.” Jihoon’s voice cut Seokmin’s words off again. Apartment 301 was just right at the corner. The door was left open, and Jihoon went straight in. I held the bouquet of flowers tightly in my hand, entering the apartment.

A large, spacious living room greeted me as I entered. In it, I could see a kitchen. A tall figure was busing behind the stove, talking animatedly as another worked quietly next to him. A huge dinner table was placed in the middle of the living room, and Seokmin headed straight towards a black-haired man in a black hoodie sitting by the couch. Once he noticed us, he quickly stood up.

The man’s eyes were bright and expressive, and they seemed to hold a sense of mischief. His nose was small and slightly upturned, giving him a boyish charm. His lips were curled into a mischievous grin as he spoke. “Is this who I think she is?”

“Bingo!” Soonyoung clapped loudly, followed by Seokmin. The man held out his hand to me. “Hi, I’m Lee Chan. You can call me by my stage name Dino, or just Chan.”

A stage name, just like Soonyoung. They must be some kind of performers. I reached out to shake his hand. “My name is Kang Raeyang, nice to meet you, Chan.” I said, as the two people working in the kitchen walked out. “Ah! New neighbour!” The taller one said loudly, taking off his apron while the other beside him adjusted his glasses. “Hi, I’m Kim Mingyu, this is Jeon Wonwoo.”

Mingyu's appearance could be described as strikingly sinful; his face is strong, with a square jawline that gives him a ruggedly handsome look. His eyes, a deep shade of brown, hold a mixture of warmth and intensity, like smouldering embers. His eyebrows are thick and well-defined, adding to the intensity of his gaze. I was reminded of the sexy models I’ve seen in magazines - well, that could be Mingyu, only if he wasn’t smiling so brightly.

Beside him, Wonwoo's face had a different aura. His eyes, dark and deep, and beneath his sharply defined eyebrows, his gaze held a quiet intensity. His sharp jawline gave his face a certain ruggedness, contrasting with the softness of his lips, which are now curved into a subtle smile.

Noticing that I have been staring at Mingyu for quite a while, I quickly handed out the bouquet of flowers, hoping that no one noticed my flustered state. “I’m Kang Raeyang, sorry for coming at such short notice… I should have brought something better…”

Mingyu blinked, and then tears welled up in his eyes. I stood in shock as he sniffed, taking the flowers from me. “Oh, that’s s-so sweet of you, Raeyang… These jerks here didn’t even get me anything when I have been working my ass off, cooking them food…”

“I helped you prepare them,” Wonwoo's voice was low, sounding tired. Chan rolled his eyes in response, while Seokmin clapped his hands together, checking the time. “It’s almost seven fifteen, is dinner ready yet?”

Mingyu recovered almost immediately. “I’ll go find a vase for these flowers. Chan, set the table. The rest of you, bring out the dishes.” As the others moved to obey his command, he turned to me, grinning. I noticed that his incisors are quite pointy, like a vampire. “Meanwhile, Raeyang, do you mind helping me supervise them? Especially Chan.”

“Yah! Kim Mingyu, you dramatic puppy!” Chan scowled and Mingyu stuck his tongue out at him. Soonyoung quickly ushered me to the kitchen. “Ignore the both of them, they are very childish…”

“Says the person who believes that he’s a tiger!” Chan yelled from behind, and Soonyoung's eyes turned wide with disbelief. He turned back, hands on his hips. “What are you talking about? I am a tiger-”

A pair of pale hands suddenly pulled me into the kitchen. I yelped in surprise as Jihoon swiftly moved in front of me. He scowled at the noise outside, slamming the kitchen door shut after Wonwoo and Seokmin entered.

"They are so noisy," he muttered, his tone exasperated as he leaned against the door, letting go of my wrist as he folded his arms. Wonwoo snorted and went back to the pots and plates, filling them up with the delicious-smelling food while Seokmin helped him.

I stepped forward to lend a hand, but I felt Jihoon grab my wrist again. I looked back at him, not understanding. “I want to help…” I started, but Jihoon shook his head. “You can help Chan take out the plates, he’ll come in after they stop yelling.” He pointed to two cabinets opposite Wonwoo and Seokmin. “There’s fourteen of us including you.”

“Alright…” I quickly took out the utensils. Jihoon opened the drawer beside me, carefully taking out the cutlery. The shouts outside died out, followed by a loud cackling of laughter and a roar of anger by someone unseen. I looked up in fear at the roar, but the other three in the kitchen didn't seem to be affected by it.

Soon, the kitchen door slid open, and Chan marched in, looking furious. His eyes blazed as he stormed past us, muttering curses under his breath.

"Stupid Seungkwan hyung," Chan complained to Wonwoo while walking past him, taking a tray from the shelves above and starting to load the cutlery Jihoon had placed on the counter. "I’ll bite his head off one day, acting like he owns the place again… And Cheol hyung always sides with him…"

Seungkwan. Soonyoung and Vernon had both mentioned his name. “Kwan’s here?” Seokmin asked interestedly, while Chan gave him a side eye, exiting the kitchen. Wonwoo sighed, giving me an embarrassed smile. “Sorry, they are like Tom and Jerry-”

“I heard that the new neighbour is here!” A head peeked out from behind the kitchen door. He has a slightly rounded face with soft, chubby cheeks, his eyes bright with light. He has a slightly pointed nose and a prominent chin, and his hair was dyed to a soft brown, falling short from his eyes. “Oh, hello! Jun hyung! Come say hi!”

A second head peeked into the kitchen. He has high cheekbones and a defined jawline, his nose is straight and well-proportioned, adding to the symmetry of his face. Unlike Seungkwan, who seemed friendly and excited, he seemed a little tired and disinterested. “Hi.”

I placed my hands in front of me politely. “Hello, I’m Kang Raeyang.”

Seungkwan waved his hand dismissively. "Don’t need to be so informal. I’m Boo Seungkwan, and this is Wen Junhui.”

“And can you not block the door?” Chan’s irritated voice came from behind them, and Seungkwan quickly turned around, scowling. “Is that how you talk to your elders, you rascal?”

“The both of you, enough!” A familiar deep voice boomed from the living room, instantly quieting the both of them. Junhui disappeared, while Seungkwan pouted. “Okay, okay, hyung. Keep your hair on.”

“He’s even more naggy than Kim Mingyu.” Chan muttered as Seungkwan stepped aside for him to go into the kitchen. Meanwhile, Seokmin had loaded the dishes onto another tray. “Hey, Raeyang, do you mind helping me with these?”

“Sure,” I nodded and walked over to him. Wonwoo passed me a second tray, “careful.” He warned. I followed Seokmin to the living room, where a big dining table is set up. Most of the seats are filled with the people I’ve seen. Joshua sent a gentle smile my way. “Hello, Raeyang.”

“Hi, Joshua.” I replied, standing beside him and putting down the tray. Opposite him, Seungcheol frowned. “Why are you loading the dishes?” He snapped, looking frustrated.

“Oh,” I was a little taken aback by his reaction. “I said I wanted to help…”

A pair of slender hands appeared on Seungcheol’s shoulder. I see Jeonghan shaking his head at Seungcheol, before turning to me with a smile.

“Thank you for helping, Raeyang,” he started. “But I think you should just sit down, Vernon will take it from here,” as if on cue, Vernon stood up, giving me a lazy smile. “You can sit there.” He pointed to an empty seat next to Junhui, and the mentioned man waved at me. “Dinner will start soon.”

previous // next

©peachesyeo, 2024

i do not own the dividers nor pictures used in banner. all credit goes to their original owners. owner of animated / 18+ banner ; owner of rose banner

#☁️k's the maestro series #seventeen ot13 #svt ot13 #seventeen ot13 x oc #svt ot13 x oc #seventeen crack #svt crack #seventeen #svt #seventeen fanfic #svt fanfic

61 notes · View notes

bengiyo · 1 year

Text

Be My Favorite: The Evils of Queer Surveillance

I’ve had a chance to calm down a bit, but I need to get this off my soul immediately. Kawi’s mom is engaged in a set of extremely vile and evil acts that we unfortunately have a long history with. In revealing Pisaeng’s relationship with his mother today, this show forces us to reconsider what we know of Pisaeng’s history, and forces us to question the presumptions of safety in our own communities.

Before we get into this, I will be describing her actions as evil. I do not want to contribute to a limited view of the character as inherently evil. I believe this woman is doing what she thinks is best for herself and her son. It’s important that we not fall into fundamentalist reads based in predeterministic assumptions about people’s behaviors. She is engaged in acts that are reprehensible. She likely believes she’s doing them for good reasons, and may have accepted the balance of harm and good on her own.

Normally I would take screenshots and borrow gifs to break up a post like this to make it more digestible, but I’m too upset to take all of that time. I’ll leave the writing about Pisaeng’s personal journey and the romance writing to others this week.

She Manipulated Her Son into the Closet

Pisaeng’s mother uses her positive positioning with her queer employees and lip service to queer issues to appear as an ally. She used that goodwill to convince her son that it would be best for his own reputation to be quiet about his sexuality and to keep her informed about any moves he made in that regard. Pisaeng has already seen through this, but it wasn’t until Kawi confronted him with the reality that he was hiding himself that he felt the need to push himself out more.

This is now the third time Gawin has played a character like this. All of Gawin’s genre characters know who they are and are choosing not to be out because of the inconvenience that others’ perceptions of them bring. It is absolutely heartbreaking to me that Pisaeng was not discovering his queerness in his attraction to Kawi. He was rejecting his closeted programming because of his friendship with Kawi.

It makes me so sad that Pisaeng seems tired and uncomfortable around his mother. He knows the way she operates. She colors right inside of the lines with every action she takes. He gives her a knowing look as she asks seemingly-innocent questions of Kawi. She gives a knowing look when he redirects Kawi into finishing his breakfast. She plays offended when she insinuates that he violated their agreement of being out without informing her.

I hate everything about this, and it only gets worse because she’s weaponized his own community against him.

She is Using Queer People to Spy on Her Son

Some of you may not know about The Lavender Scare or have a strong grasp on the history of law enforcement using members of a community to spy on their own people, but it’s literally how they planned the operation to assassinate Fred Hampton and other leaders. Gay communities were vulnerable to infiltration because when cops threatened enforcement of sodomy laws on white men, they turned on their own communities to avoid losing access to the privileges of whiteness. I say this plainly to show that these tactics are easily transferrable to any marginalized group when its members are isolated.

Pisaeng’s mother reminds Pisaeng that his private life does not belong to him, and that she has already turned his own community against him. She commands extraordinary wealth, which she has leveraged on her queer employees to report when her son is spotted in queer places. She seemed surprised that she was not aware of Kawi, and implies by the comment on his “unique name” that she will absolutely know who he is shortly. Pisaeng feels the threat of all of this, and steers Kawi out of there, but it’s made abundantly clear that he is not safe in queer spaces. Worse, his presence in queer spaces brings the surveillance of the ruling class down upon them immediately. In so many ways she’s made him a threat to his own community.

What’s especially sad about this is that his mother becomes an immediate wedge between Max and Pisaeng. She signals in public in ways that engender support of the queer community. Pisaeng has clearly grown to like Max, and seems to want to build a friendship with him. However, even a queer as apparently-put-together as Max can be fooled by his mom. Pisaeng doesn’t seem mad or disappointed about this; he seems resigned.

Where the Hell Do We Go from Here?

I have no idea. GMMTV went here a little bit with Not Me, and in a different direction with The Eclipse, but I wasn’t expecting them to come for queer-friendly-signaling members of the wealth class. I think they’re walking a careful line by highlighting her political ambitions but not making her a politician already. The insidiousness of the control scheme his mom has deployed against him is legitimately horrifying to me, because she crushed the spirit of her queer son right as he blossomed. I also lived in the closet, but I crushed my own spirit for them.

I know this is a BL, so we’re going to be caught up in the romance and whether or now we like Krist and Gawin together, but please don’t forget about the queerness underpinning these kinds of stories. It is abjectly evil to weaponize members of a community against each other. What is being done to Kawi and the people around him is evil. This cannot stand. She must be stopped.

#Ben writes #be my favorite #be my favorite meta #thai bl #bl series #lgbt tv #lgbtq

279 notes · View notes

ktempestbradford · 1 year

Text

There is so much to talk about with this article. So much. In this post I want to focus on a specific part of it: the reactions of Lindelof and Cuse to what the writers and actors experienced. Here are several quotes [emphasis mine].

“What can I say? Other than it breaks my heart that that was Harold [Perrineau's] experience,” replied Lindelof, who said he did not recall “ever” saying that. “And I’ll just cede that the events that you’re describing happened 17 years ago, and I don’t know why anybody would make that up about me.”

Lindelof told me he didn’t remember any negative incident with an editor, adding that he seeks out input from collaborators and that he’s “never threatened anyone’s career.” Lindelof also said he had no recollection of anything Hsu Taylor said about events connected to “Ab Aeterno.” He said she was a “great writer who executed at a high level” and he’s “stricken” that she was made to feel the way she felt at that time.

Regarding the other allegations leveled at him and the show, Lindelof said he had no memory of the incidents and comments I related. He told me he was “shocked and appalled and surprised” by the incidents I described to him, and said more than once that he did not think anyone was making anything up. “I just can’t imagine that Carlton would’ve said something like that, or some of those attributions, some of those comments that you [shared]—I’m telling you, I swear, I have no recollection of those specific things. And that’s not me saying that they didn’t happen. I’m just saying that it’s literally baffling my brain—that they did happen and that I bore witness to them or that I said them. To think that they came out of my mouth or the mouths of people that I still consider friends is just not computing.”

I'm not going to quote Cuse's responses here because they all boil down to: "I don't remember doing/saying that" or "Nuh uh, that didn't happen!" which is... certainly a choice.

You're going to see a bunch of people siding with and empathizing with Lindelof and praising him for saying that what happened was wrong, etc., and I will push back every time I see it because of all those instances of him saying he doesn't recall and doesn't remember. I don't think he's lying. I do think it's indicative of an ongoing problem with him as a writer and showrunner and it needs to be called out.

I'm going to tell you a story that explains my point. Also putting it and my conclusions under a cut as this is long. Please do read.

Many years ago I became friends with a white woman writer in the SFF community who lived in NYC during some of the time I did. She knew many of the writers and editors in our community who also lived in NYC or nearby. At the time, the majority of these editors were white and most were men. She became particularly friendly with some of them.

A couple of years into our relationship we were at ReaderCon together. One day at the hotel bar I was sitting with this woman (we'll call her Karen for the purposes of this story) and two other BIPOC male authors who had both published multiple books at this point and were people that Karen felt were impressive and important. During the conversation someone (probably me?) brought up the online conversations/debates/fights currently happening about representation in the SFF genre and the way certain editors were part of the problem. I want to say this was even before RaceFail happened.

Karen revealed that she'd been talking to important people like Gordon van Gelder about the things I'd been saying online and how, well... the things I was saying were just crazy. Crazy things! I was acting so crazy.

I don't remember the exact phrasing, but I remember the repeated categorizing of me/my words as Crazy.

I also don't remember exactly what I said in response. I do remember how I felt in my body at that moment. I was suddenly flooded with, I think, adrenaline or something and I wanted to run away because otherwise I was going to start throwing things. I couldn't believe this person, who claimed to be my friend, was saying this to me.

I also remember that I felt trapped because I was in a booth and the two other writers were on either side of me so I couldn't just get up and leave. It turned out I didn't need to do that. Because immediately both of them were like: Hold up. Hold the EFF up.

They both pointed out to Karen that the things I brought up in those online discussions were real issues that did need addressing and that I wasn't crazy and the only reason she thought so was because I was a Black woman and when white people or even people perceived as being white said the same thigs I did, people in the community listened, so what the heck was even wrong with her.

I just sat there, pretty quiet, still trying to calm myself down while this all happened and also felt so very grateful for how these two guys (also friends) stood up for me without hesitating, without equivocating, without giving Karen an inch to continue to talk about me in such a way. I don't even know how that conversation ended or if I even talked to Karen again at the con. I did decide right then that I was going to pull back from our friendship because of it.

A year or so later I ended up having to have a conversation with Karen because of some nonsense she pulled at WisCon. In that conversation I mentioned the discussion we had at ReaderCon and how that truly affected my view of her, a person who was supposedly my friend and who constantly tried to say she was an ally to BIPOC. And that's when she said: What discussion?

At first I wasn't sure if she was feigning ignorance or not. The more we talked, the more I realized she wasn't. She didn't remember the incident. And in that talk I realized why: It didn't have that big of an impact on her.

Even with her being essentially told off by the other two, for her, having conversations where she casually parroted some white, male editor's racist and misogynistic view of me was of little note because she and the other people she spent a majority of time with were doing it all the time. It was just a Tuesday for her. And so after ReaderCon when she continually asked if I wanted to hang out or go on writing dates, she did so as if she had not said some absolutely egregious stuff to me weeks before. Again, to her: a Tuesday.

Having had more experience in life with certain kinds of racists, sexists, ableists, and bigots in general, I can say that this phenomenon was not specific to Karen. It is endemic with a certain kind of person who is devoted to the status quo/dominant paradigm.

So when Lindelof says that he doesn't remember doing and saying these things, he's probably not lying. Because for him, it was business as usual, a Tuesday. Normalized on a number of levels. He was a fish in water and the water was composed of racist, sexist a-holes doing whatever they wanted because no one above them put a stop to it. And that is a problem even 20ish years later.

That Lindelof had to be told he did these things and that he, in all this time, has not reflected on them, not realized on his own that what he did was terrible, apologized, and worked his butt off to not only ensure the shows he runs do not have this atmosphere but to also throw every bit of work that he can to those writers (not necessarily on his shows, but others) is proof that it continues to be a problem. And that he has a lot of work to do to atone for all these things he can't remember--starting by doing a real deep dive into why he can't.

Cuse can't be saved. I suggest we introduce him to a nice oubliette.

#I'll note that the author of the piece called him out on his passive language and I very much appreciate that #Her whole book looks to be amazing and a wake up call and I hope everyone reads it #LOST #Damon Lindelof #Carlton Cuse #Carlton Cuse For Oubliette President #I feel justified in all of my critiques of LOST

358 notes · View notes

yanderecrazysie · 3 months

Text

Bad End Night (Yandere Males) PROLOGUE

Since the poll was overwhelmingly for me posting my original story here, I thought I would start now.

Summary: When your car breaks down, you find yourself staying overnight in a mysterious mansion. However, the inhabitants of the manor are clearly hiding dark secrets from you. There’s only so many ways this night can go. Can you find the happy end or are you heading for a bad end night?

This story is based on the song “Bad ∞ End ∞ Night” by Hitoshizuku-P and Yama△, while the characters are based on a cover of the song on 高生紳士 YouTube channel. You don’t have to know anything about the song to enjoy this, but I totally recommend it as a song in general.

This story will contain graphic violence, swearing, bisexual men, and your general yandere themes. If any of those is a deal breaker, please leave instead of hating.

I have finished the entire story (except for the endings) at this point in time, so no real worries about me failing to finish this.

This reader was fun to write. Also, I picked each character’s name for a reason.

Next Part: Chapter One

—----------------------------------------------------

“She’ll be arriving soon,” a handsome man with messy dark blue hair streaked with white laid on a velvet sofa, hands behind his head as he smiled lazily at his husband.

His husband, a shorter man with straight red hair, smiled back at him, “Yes, she will. We should take our places.”

“We still have some time, Shiro,” the man replied, waving his concerns away with a flick of the wrist.

The other man, Shiro, walked to the doorway and peered down the hallway where an old grandfather clock stood against the plain red wallpaper. The long hand ticked forward to mark 7:50 as he studied it, and he smiled again.

“We have six minutes,” he called back to the living room, “We should hurry now.”

“That late, huh?” His husband drawled, “I’m looking forward to seeing her. Gather the others, then.”

Shiro nodded, “I will do so. But, Oni, make sure to not be late this time.”

Oni appeared in the doorway, grinning widely, “I wouldn’t miss her for the world.”

“You said that last time, then fell asleep on the couch,” Shiro laughed.

The man ran his long fingers through his messy blue-and-white hair, “I need to freshen up. I have to look my best for her.”

“Hurry,” Shiro said sternly. He headed towards the spiral staircase and took a step up before calling, “And you look good enough now, you know.”

“Of course I do,” Oni said, flashing a cocky grin before disappearing through the doorway once more.

Rolling his eyes, Shiro traversed the spiral staircase, arriving at the second floor quickly. The wooden floor creaked under the red soles of his shoes as he walked briskly down the hallway. He stopped at the first door to the left, admiring the way the carvings of butterflies flew along the arch of the door. Gazing softly at it, he turned around and knocked on the door across from the carved one. This door was rectangular and devoid of any decorations- plain and ordinary.

It flew open almost immediately, a young man with long wild gray hair revealed through the opening. He white shirt with a black vest and pants to match. His gaze was dull, but a certain excitement gleamed in his eyes.

“Is it time to take our places, Master Shiro?” He asked, voice almost too soft to hear.

“Yes, Tsumi. Please get the dolls ready,” Shiro replied, “I will fetch my son.”

The maid, Tsumi, nodded and hurried past his employer and down the hallway. Shiro followed her, stopped at the next door, a rectangular one with a bird carving in the middle, and knocked on it. Like the maid, the owner of the room opened the door immediately.

The boy inside had his father’s red hair and eyes, although no one would know looking at him, considering they were covered by pink dye and contact lenses. He looked disdainfully at his father, leaning against the doorway uninterestedly.

“She’ll be here in a few minutes,” Shiro said simply.

The boy’s eyes lit up and he shoved past his father, racing down the hallway and stomping down the spiral staircase. Shiro shook his head in exasperation, muttering, “He doesn’t act 22 whenever it comes to her.”

Shiro hurried down the spiral staircase. He sighed in relief when she saw the butler was already in place, standing prim and proper in front of the door. His son rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet in the living room, hands held behind his back.

A moment after Shiro stepped off of the bottom stair, the maid came rushing down the staircase, followed by two boys, both dressed in old fashioned black-and-white clothing. They walked stiffly to their spots in the dining room.

“Less than one minute!” Shiro yelled. Her husband, Oni, appeared in the doorway and, smiling brightly, took his husband’s hand. They walked back up the staircase and to their bedroom.

The butler stared expectantly at the door, preparing a pleasant smile. The clock’s long hand moved to 56.

Knock knock.

#yandere #yandere x reader

55 notes · View notes

papayatori · 4 months

Text

Don’t Blink! (P3)

LN4 x fém!reader

No warnings

I’m not sure how long I’m going to carry on this series, I guess it depends on how well it does. I’ve got nothing but positives so far, so I hope it stays that way. I also take requests! Feel free to leave me some! (This one is kind of shorter, I’m sorry. Longer one next time!)

My alarm interrupted my peaceful sleeping. I was beyond pissed and could have thrown it across the room had it not simply been doing its God-forsaken job. I decided that, at the ungodly hour of 7am on a Saturday, that I would get up and make breakfast like normal human beings usually do.

How incredibly jealous I was of said human beings.

In about thirty minutes, I had started things in the kitchen. I had my morning cup of Chai and was ready to take on the world; and by the world, I meant the frying pan.

Pancakes were a delicacy that could not be coveted, an art that took decades to master. Pancakes with bacon were even better. Not to mention, keeping my apartment from burning down as an added plus. With that said, I gave all of my attention to the stovetop.

After a long battle with the floury pancake mix and attempting to turn it into a batter(there was now a huge mess to clean up later, yet another reason I have yet to master the art of pancake making), I had finally managed to have a breakfast fit for a king.

Or better yet, a breakfast fit for me.

I had decided to leave the mess to clean up later, I was hungry and it could wait. Though, I was proud of myself and couldn’t help but snap a picture of my breakfast and post it on Twitter.

I ate in a comfortable and relaxing silence. I had earned this after yesterday. Though, I hadn’t really stumbled upon last nights memories until now. Lando and I had texted for a while after I had gone to bed, him insisting that I never answered his ‘question’. At first I was really sure what he meant, but then I had come to the realization that he was asking when our next date was.

Silly me.

I would be lying if the thought of our time yesterday hadn’t sent me into a mess of smiles and butterflies every time I thought of it. Sure, I had always found Lando attractive, but never had I thought anything more than that. Why would I? I hadn’t met him until yesterday.

I’m starting to believe I might be going insane, and I will be blaming Lando for legal purposes.

Ding!

Startled, I looked down at my phone. I usually didn’t get many replies on Twitter, this was new.

And you didn’t invite me? I thought we were friends 💔

At first I was confused as hell, and then I read the name of the person who had replied.

Lando Norris

I shook my head with a small smile spreading across my lips. I wasn’t sure how he managed to find my social media, or why for that matter, but I suppose it wouldn’t have been too hard. I decided to reply anyway.

Maybe next time Mr. Norris

…

My laptop open, camera plugged in, I knew for a fact that these were going to be the easiest photos I’d ever edited. I plopped myself back down on my couch, satisfied with my breakfast and cleanup afterwards, one hindered percent determined to be productive today.

Woo hoo!

Okay, maybe that was a bit of sarcasm. Though, i wasn’t lying about these photos being easy to edit. The hard part, however, would be keeping my eyes off of Lando’s face for long enough to edit his photos.

Who knew such a thing could be so insanely difficult.

It was honestly frustrating trying to keep my mind away from him. I’ve dated my fair share of men, and I don’t think I’ve ever had this much trouble keeping my thoughts in check. This also begs the question, what exactly were we now? I’m not sure if our date had any romantic implications in the first place. He could have just been being friendly. I would be a fool to mention it.

A knock on the door pulled me completely out of my rambling thoughts, and a part of me was thankful. I got up to open it, curious as who the hell could be knock in on my door at 9am.

The door revealed the most beautiful pair of blue-green eyes I had ever seen.

“I brought you things!” Lando said excitedly, not waiting on me to let him in a pushing past me to the table in my kitchen.

“Good morning to you too, Lando.” I chuckled, following closely after him.

“So, first things first. I’m mad at you.” Lando pushed his bottom lip out, giving me a pout I couldn’t help but giggle at.

“And why would that be, Mr. Norris?” He glared at me.

“You know exactly why I’m mad at you.” He clicked his tongue. “Fortunately for you, that isn’t why I am here.” I tilted my head, urging him to continue.

Lando pulled some bits of paper out of the sack I hadn’t realized he was holding. His eyes were too much of a distraction for me to even notice. He smiled then, holding my gaze for a little longer than I had anticipated before finally breaking the silence once more.

“Sign these.” He slid the papers towards me.

“What am I signing exactly?” I asked. As he handed me the pen, our fingertips touched for a moment, sending electricity through my body. My face heated up and I reverted my eyes back down to the paper to keep from falling into his.

“It’s a contract. I worked my magic with Zak, you’re welcome, and he’s written up an official agreement for you to work for McLaren.”

“You’re lying.” I gasped, reading through the paper that said just about the exact same thing Lando had just described to me. “I thought you were joking.”

“I wouldn’t get your hopes up like that, not even after you had pancakes without me.” I rolled my eyes at his smirking figure. I ignored his comment.

“I just can’t believe it’s actually happening. You have no idea how long I’ve wanted something like this.” This time I looked up at Lando with the biggest, genuine smile he’s ever seen me wear, and instead of smirking, he actually gave me a genuine smile back.

“I’m sure you can believe this then.” He reached further down into the back, balling it up afterwards. “Paddock pass for Bahrain. You won’t need to worry about the flight or the hotel situation, you’re going to be staying in the same one as Oscar and myself. I think Zak will probably also be there this time around seeing as it’s the first race of the season.”

Before I could really think about what I was doing, my arms were wrapped around him in a tight embrace. He was quite taller than me, leaving my face buried into his chest. His muscles were tense, slowly easing as he wrapped his arms around my waist.

“Thank you, Lando.” I mumbled, my voice muffled from his chest.

“Anything for you, darling.”

Coming to my senses, I pulled away a bit quicker than I would have liked.

“Fuck, I’m sorry-“

Lando was laughing at me now, probably seeing how red my face was.

“I got a bit excited.” I continued to try and explain myself without sounding like a fan.

Well, I was a fan, but that was beside the point.

“Just don’t get so excited that you forget to sign those papers, Miss y/ln.” I looked down at them to find that he was right, I really had forgotten to sign the papers.

His hand squeezed my shoulder as I was writing, causing me to hesitate slightly before continuing. His touch sent waves of heat through me, heat that I could explain but most definitely couldn’t deny either.

I looked up at him when I finished, praying my face wouldn’t give away the things his touch did to me. He smiled sweetly.

“I can’t wait for next week.” He said, as if he were the one who had just signed contract papers with McLaren as their primary photographer.

“Neither can I.”

…

“This picture? Really?” Lando gave me a look as we pulled my laptop away from me on the couch. I should’ve learned my lesson last time he took something from me, but apparently I had not.

“I like that one! It brings out your eyes.” I stated proudly. He smirked.

“You like my eyes, do you?” I paused, not expecting for that sort of question after the moments we had spent in the kitchen.

“Maybe, maybe not; but one thing is for certain, and that is that the LN4 Twitter fan girls are infatuated with them, and that’s all I need for my entire career to blow up.”

Who was I trying to fool, myself? Lando sent me a knowing look.

“Staring contest, go!” I was completely caught off guard by this, not prepared in the slightest.

His eyes bore into my own, blinding me without any light whatsoever. They were full of so many emotions that I couldn’t place, though the joy behind his iris’s couldn’t be contained. I almost smiled at the thought that maybe I was the reason behind the joy he was feeling.

Don’t blink

I lost myself in his eyes, in my thoughts, perfectly content to stare into him for the rest of our time together. I hadn’t realized that that we had slowly drifted towards each other, my mouth parted slightly in instinctive anticipation. Was this really happening?

Then he stuck is tongue out at me.

I blinked in confusion at first, laughing at his action before realizing I had lost the staring contest.

“Oh fuck off!” I laughed, throwing on of the couch pillows at him.

“You’re just mad because I’m right!” He laughed along with me, seeing the dawning look of realization grow on my face.

The only reason we had a staring contest was just for him to prove the fact that I liked his eyes. This bastard knew what he was doing. Honestly, I was starting to like that.

Or maybe I was just starting to like him.

…

The late afternoon had rolled around after spending the entire day joking around with Lando.

So much for being productive.

I led him to the door on his way out. I’m not really sure why I didn’t want him to leave; but, his presence sure beat the hell out of being lonely and editing his photos all day.

“Thanks for today, I had a lot of fun.” I said, giving him a small smile as a thanks. He chuckled.

“So did I, other than the part where I didn’t get pancakes.” I rolled my eyes before an idea popped into my head.

“If you won’t hold this over my head anymore, maybe you could come over for breakfast tomorrow morning?” Proud of myself, I gave him a wink. He blanked, surprised I even offered.

“Sure! As long as I can consider it our second date.”

“A deals a deal.” I offered him my hand. He shook it with a triumphant smile, bringing my hand to his lips before gently kissing the back of it.

“I suppose I’ll see you in the morning then, darling.”

And with that, he was gone and the door had shut behind him. The only thing he left behind was the faint scent of his cologne.

#don’t blink #f1 x y/n #f1 x you #f1 x reader #f1 imagine #f1 fic #f1 fanfic #mclaren formula 1 #fanfic #ln4 x y/n #ln4 fluff #ln4 imagine #lando x you #ln4 fic #lando norris #lando x reader #ln4 #ln4 x reader #ln4 x you

92 notes · View notes

cosmic-metanoia · 5 months

Text

Femininity Concepts in FFXVI

***Spoilers for Final Fantasy XVI***

Well, here I am again, now focusing on the female characters.

Like I did in the previous post, I will focus on the female Dominants first then highlight some secondary characters that really stood out.

*Jill - Come on, we gotta start with our beloved gal. She demonstrates this silent but strong (and even fearsome) spirit. She's very supportive of Clive but is not afraid to voice her opinions. She possesses a natural elegance and grace but demonstrates her fierce capabilities on the battlefield. She has a knack for negotiation and relating to others. We really see her unveil her dark side when she confronts her past head on in the Iron Kingdom. What's fantastic is that she asked for Clive's support and understanding but made it clear that she would be the one to face off against the Crystalline Orthodoxy's head priest (his name escapes me). Jill may not always make background commentary but her words are carefully selected and measured.

*Benedikta - She is your classic femme fatale that plays with men to further advance her position. Yet the one who she is in a love/hate relationship with is the one she can't have. She is ferocious yet what makes her different is that she contains this hidden sorrow and just wants to be genuinely loved. The way she frantically panicked when she lost her Eikon honestly brought tears to my eyes. She ended up with the wrong crowd and played this game of political chess in a room full of powerful men yet she instantly realized how useless she was to them in that moment of losing her most valuable piece.

*Side note: Let's hope that Leviathan the Lost is another female Eikon when the DLC hits in the next few months!! <3

*Jote - Okay, this awesome woman is HIGHLY underrated! She is incredibly enigmatic and we learn so much about her from the thoughts of other characters but never from her own lips! Initially players may brush her off as some unimportant maid servant but we see that she is so much more - a shield, a formidable fighter (though never witnessed!), a healer, a scout, etc. She's basically doing the jobs of Tarja, Clive, and Gav wrapped up in one! Yet her eyes give away her feelings towards Joshua and especially when she frets over his health. Yes, she longs for him but what makes it unique is that she loves him for who he is, not for what benefits his Eikon brings to the Undying that worships him.

*Mid - A freakin' prodigy. I mean, she is the head of the hideaway engineers! An occupation that is stereotypically masculine. She is 100% focused on her tasks and is not your typical 16 year old gal for sure. Her genius inventions, zest for life, and fast-talking mannerisms has all of the hideaway family wrapped around her finger (true, also because she is Cid's daughter). That whole scene with Joshua kneeling to kiss her hand upon meeting her cracked me up - she's the last woman who requires a chivalrous display but what I love is how she laughed and pulled him up and gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

*Charon - What can I say, this woman does not take s--- from ANYONE. She's even intimidating to some of the men at the hideaway which is absolutely hilarious. She is a hardened woman that commands respect but has her softer side which takes time to reveal. Money is on her mind but eventually she learns that there should be more to life - using her abilities as a cunning merchant to help a cause greater than herself.

*Tarja - Like Charon, she also does not accept any B.S. and takes her job as the non-magical physicker very seriously. What's great is that she isn't a nurse but the actual (and only) doctor of the hideaway. Her extensive knowledge is incredibly valuable and the hideaway would definitely not have survived without her.

*Vivian - A woman held in high-esteem who is so focused on the garnering of knowledge that she even gets targeted by assassins. Her intelligence certainly tips the scales in favor of the Cursebreakers to gain the upper hand.

*Anabella - I have a huge post written about her but I figure it's worth mentioning a particular aspect. She possesses quite the evil ambitions and is able to persuade not just the theocratic Sanbrequois emperor but powerful men from other nations - NOT just through her looks but through her conniving strategies. She longs for a powerful legacy forged by the greatest possible noble blood and even views herself as the prized breeding cow.

Some other examples of different aspects of female characters include: Eloise who is an astute businesswoman who conducted deals and contracts while her brother Theodore (sob) became her trusted porter; Martha who is the tough protector of Martha's Rest - the Rosarians put their trust and faith in her; the same with the Northreach residents when it came to Isabelle. What's great about her is that she is a courtesan but we see her blossom into a strong and trustworthy leader that many held in high esteem.

Even the stoic Dorys is the commander of a Cursebreakers squad.

I love how the story had female characters each with their own drives and ambitions whether they were motivated by a just cause or for evil reasons.

#ff16 #ffxvi #final fantasy 16 #final fantasy xvi #ff16 spoilers #ffxvi spoilers #jill warrick #ffxvi jote #ff16 jote #ff16 tarja #anabella rosfield #benedikta harman #midadol telamon #ff16 mid

71 notes · View notes

leahnardo-da-veggie · 1 month

Text

False-Moon

So the publishers rejected my short story, but I figured yall might like it haha! Here:

The shining spectre of the holy sun dipped behind the clouds, and I watched it go. When the last ember of gold was dashed, I sparked my lantern and raised it up on its stick, twelve and a half men high.

Night bloomed around me, darkness without the respite of a moon. Ours had fallen many springs ago, when the Dryads warred with the Harpies, who stole the moon to spite us. The gods had punished them, and there are no Harpies now, but no man nor god had been able to find the moon again. So we made do with my lantern.

Its post was carved living birch, taken from the corpses of fallen Dryad Warriors, each strip from a different corpse, held together by metal inlay. Under the flickering lamp-light, its runes were more serpent than silver, glinting and shifting slyly. It was a comfort, a stave against the weight on my duty.

The wind was bitter on the moors tonight, tall grass whipping at my ankles, chilling me through the layers of bark I bore. It would not hurt me, any more than the winter could kill an ancient oak, but I hated it all the same, for I had not the fortitude of my sleeping siblings, and it meant the night would be an even more unpleasant one.

I walked through the moor, lantern held high. it illuminated me in a too-small circle of gold. I was but a little sapling when the moon fell, of course, but I remembered the moon's blessing on me. It felt nothing like the thin lantern-light.

The light had been silver, like my mother's greying hair, like the wolves that guarded our forest, like safety and wisdom. All I felt here was exhaustion. That, and fear. We did not venture out of the forest at night, and nothing separated me from the endless darkness. Nothing, except my false-moon.

I stopped in the middle of the field and looked up. I was not quite sure why I did as such, for there was nothing up there. I remembered a story my grandmother's grandmother told me, of a time when her grandmother had been a little girl, when there were stars in the sky, little shining dots like the freckles on a Human's skin, and when night was but an icy day, so perhaps it was a ghost of a memory. It was all gone now, in any case.

I wondered how long it would be ‘til the sun was gone too.

My steady feet carried me to the edge of the moor. Water rushed there, slick pebbles hard against the wood of my soles. I stepped into the stream, letting the flow part itself around my calves as I moved. My hands never faltered, never dropped low. They were aching, now, just a little.

Under my golden lantern, the river might well have been blood, the blood of all the wars we had held over the millennia. I could only catch the faintest glimpses of silver amidst the dark river, and that could have just been the moon's blood.

I crossed the stream with no fuss, and stood on the ancient battlefield. Charred ground crumbled beneath my feet, a steady path made by my predecessors leading me forth. From within the tiny circle of illumination, I saw stumps of torrefied wood, my sleeping siblings dead from an agonising blaze. The elders had called it their due, for the dead-wood had sheltered our mortal enemies. I could only call it a sham, a shame, a horrible thing out of my nightmares. Treason, my elders would remind me, but true nonetheless.

The very air itself resisted my movements, as though the darkness did not want to be lit here, that the horrors that had occurred should not be revealed. In the daylight, perhaps, it would not have been quite so grim. The sun would have warmed the dead dirt, and I could have pretended not to feel the life-destroying salt beneath me.

Closing my eyes, I shook the unease off. It would find no mantle within me. Five years I had trained for this day, to do my people proud, to set the night alight. Yet, here I was, on the boundary between my people and our long-dead enemy, and I felt nothing but loss.

The ground was not burnt here, not yet. Grass still poked up between my toes, friendly and curious. My sleeping siblings, great oaks, smiled down at me, in the way they had done at home. I looked up at my little sphere of fire. It danced and gleamed within its cage of metal and glass, eager to unmake.

I should have done what all my predecessors did, and broke that sphere, letting our wrath blaze, sending the Harpy-forest alight. It would please my elders, and brighten the endless darkness, returning that which the Harpies took from us for a brief night.

I could have done what a few did, and walked away, returning my lantern unbroken and the forest unburnt. It would make the elders rage, and they would cast me out of their ranks, but at least I would not be a part of this travesty.

I did not do either of those things.

Instead, I set my stick firmly into the growing grass, where it stood tall. I got on one knee before my people's nemesis, and I bowed, the way I would have done at home, before my forest and my gods. My nose brushed against the dark earth, and I inhaled it. The scent was strange, with its char, yet familiar. It had once been a part of our forest too, once.

I knelt there, and I whispered a prayer. “Great old ones, my fallen brethren, my people's old enemies, hear me. I bring an apology. Forgive us, for our senseless violence. Forgive us, for making a farce of the moon's light with our fire. Forgive us, for we must end this cycle. The stars have all fallen. The moon is spirited away. When the sun is lost too, what hope will there be for any of our peoples? So— I take the first step and make amends. I am Entarai, daughter of warriors Jerai and Ilkoi, who were felled in the same battle that took your lives. I offer this lantern, and the fire within, and I beg you, with all my heart, forgive us and return our moon,” I said, not expecting a response.

There was none, of course. I had not the sensitivity of a druid, to hear the whispers of the dead, nor the skills of a necromancer to call them to me, so even if they had reached out, I would never know.

I got up, brushed the dirt out of the cracks on my bark. I pressed my cheekbones in a final orison, then turned and began the walk home. My miniature moon, the little lantern on its stick, disappeared behind me as I left the woods behind.

Strangely, the darkness did not hold the same terror it once did.

My path back was marked by the indents of my feet, the path walked by me and every other lantern bearer for a hundred thousand moonless nights. Blind as I was, I could follow it back to my lands. I navigated the riverbank through its pebbles, my feet feeling blindly for the smooth slippery stone and the water that would follow. Whence I found it, I crawled on my hands and knees through the river, its coolness washing over me, soaking me to the core.

Perhaps it was just a trick of my mind, but the stream no longer felt like blood.

#writeblr #my writing #writing #creative writing #writerscommunity #writing community #spilled ink #fantasy #short story #Honestly it wasn't that great #I'm gonna keep trying tho #:)

38 notes · View notes

lucky-clover-gazette · 7 days

Text

extremely long essay-adjacent post about female representation in the captive prince

capri is interesting bc i dislike the lack of female characters, but knowing the way that people are treated in vere and akielos, i kinda feel relieved that we don’t see many women.

like idk, gender stuff is complicated. it is a double standard, that seeing female characters in the same positions as the men in these books would just feel different. given how women have been treated and continue to be treated in real life society, it’s almost escapist fantasy within itself to see this world where we don’t have to really look too hard at women being abused and oppressed. and in addition to real life, we get that in plenty of fiction already, written mostly by men, often in a way that feels condescending or fetishizing.

capri’s male-dominated cast comes at the expense of really seeing women on the page, but the few female characters do seem to be intentionally written in positions that don’t feel disempowering or misogynistic. vannes holds her position of authority through similar means to the powerful men, and she’s just as morally questionable as the rest—no exceptions are made. jokaste is authoritative simply by her characterization, and uses her femininity in as a tool to put herself in higher stations. like, that woman has a uterus and she knows how to use it to her advantage. and then there’s the vaskian women, like this entirely separate matriarchal warrior society, and we really only get a peek into whatever the hell they have going on.

we know, logically, that there are plenty of female slaves and pets and prostitutes, almost undoubtedly abused and undervalued wives of men in the nobility. the regent's court is male-dominated by choice. kastor, i would bet, is similarly misogynistic. the male characters we follow are explicit misogynists, gay and disinterested in women, or like legally forbidden from any heterosexual romance they might want to have. gender roles and sexual taboos run deep in this world. we know that women are out there, suffering, just like damen and erasmus and laurent. but pacat shows us women who are not suffering instead. and that, to me, is something.

but like, i think the instance of womanhood that’s most interesting to me in the series is actually the absence of it in laurent and damen’s lives. the characters and story we follow are so steeped in masculinity and patriarchy—but there are women in this world. they are up to things, and i think pacat has given their existence thought. i can't know her intentions for sure, but i sense that she might have made them absent in our protagonist’s lives for a reason.

becauseeeee who is the person to finally Beat the regent? a female character who you are meant to ignore, who appears to be a random bystander, but reveals herself to be mindful and caring. a woman who, just like damen and laurent in book 1, is relatively powerless in this society but left with very little to lose. loyse is the closest thing to like… a just kinda average woman we see in this entire series. she’s not partaking in the debauchery of veretian, akielion, or vaskian nobility. she’s not playing power games with her body or sexuality. she’s basically just, like, the normalest person in the room, full of people like fifteen feet deep in a pool of power struggles, sexual depravity, manipulation, politics, and war strategy. she has her head above water, at least after aimeric’s death. that isn’t a gendered quality by nature, and i hate the implication that women are more likely to be level-headed, good advocates or caretakers, etc… but i don’t think that’s what i’m trying to say here at all.

because loyse, like… isn’t a perfect mother. she either completely missed or knowingly enabled horrible things happening to her son because her husband wanted to social climb. i’m not sure if she knew, during aimeric’s childhood, exactly what was going on with guoin, the regent, and aimeric. it might say somewhere (i hope it does!) but my skimming yielded nothing. i think it would make the most sense if loyse only found out after aimeric’s death, like on the road with guion and the main characters. she clearly spoke to laurent about it at some point, and didn’t tell guion that she planned to testify against him. regardless of when she found out, she’s just over it all at the trial, and finally speaks her mind.

loyse being a woman doesn’t inherently make her more likely to be wise or compassionate than the main characters—but it’s more like, idk, being so far removed from the very male-centric story that we see, it allows a character like her to have the clarity to essentially defeat the final boss everyone else has been struggling to fight for three entire books. loyse really just said, “hi. fuck you all. my son is dead because my asshole husband made a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ with him as a bargaining chip. i’m not delusional, i know this is wrong, and im not going to shut up about it to appease this depraved and cowardly court. also the regent killed his brother, because i know you assholes don’t care about my son and never will.” and that is the first domino in the regent’s defeat.

so, like… what if damen and laurent had been written with loyses in their lives? women who weren’t there to have sex with them, in damen’s case? mothers and sisters and friends? what qualities could they have then developed in themselves, so much sooner than they do in the series?

if more of these characters were women—if more women were Involved In The Story, in general—would it have been as brutal or difficult as it was? could things have been better communicated, would social reform have happened sooner? would damen and laurent (especially laurent) have had the same experiences that so strongly define who they are? it’s a slippery slope to assign traits to gender, i know, but i think there is something to be said for the different ways men and women handle intellectual and emotional problems—especially if they’ve been socialized heavily based on their gender, which does seem to be the case for this world. if damen had a mother or a sister or a simply platonic female friend, do you think he would have more quickly realized some of his own ethical blind spots re: sex and consent? if laurent had a mother or sister or female friend, do you think he would have been protected from the regent, and given more opportunities to feel safe and unsexualized? if there were actual authoritative women in the venetian royal bloodline, would the regent have been able to take over, and make the court so male-dominated in the first place?

it’s like that meme, “x media (image of giant book), x media if character had a gun (very short book).” i think, fundamentally, that capri would not have been able to tell the same story if more female characters were involved. and to be clear—that is not an excuse to exclude female characters, because i fucking love female characters. it would almost certainly be a better series with more women thoughtfully involved, but the point is, it wouldn’t be the same. and i do admire that pacat seems to understand that there are differences between men and women, in many ways, and doesn’t just like… write a character she means to be a dude, and then genderswap. or write an character who’s in essence genderless, insert them into this very gendered society, and then spin a wheel to see what pronouns they use.

i’m not sure exactly what point i’m trying to make here, but i’ll leave two related excerpts for your consideration. actually, yes, i do know my point, and i’ll say it with conviction: simply thinking to put female characters in a story, does not make it a story with thoughtful female characters. and capri, as a series, is defined by its thoughtfulness to me. i cannot fully commit to the suggestion that its lack of female characters is inherently misogynistic, because i think that lack of female presence is a character within itself. and more than anything, it’s an ongoing flaw of fandoms in general, people in general, to either want women to be 1) absent, so they’re not in the way of the men’s stories or 2) simple and archetypical, to check a box for inclusion. but there are other options. i like those options more.

to truly want female representation in a misogynistic world is to want to see the complexity of womanhood, both in its presence and its absence. and i think if cs pacat ever decided to take on a female perspective, intentionally, as the main point of a piece of writing, it would be masterfully done. i would love to see her write women, but i want those women to truly be the main characters. and i never want to tell anyone what they should want to write about.

capri is what it is. and to its credit, i do believe that this series both considers and values the female perspective much more than the fandom seems to acknowledge. the real problem to me rests with fandom and the society it reflects, rather than the story or its author.

excerpt #1, from the summer palace by cs pacat, author of the captive prince series:

‘My mother planted these gardens,’ said Damen. His heart was pounding. ‘Do you like them? They’re ours now.’ Saying the word “ours” still felt daring. He could feel it mirrored in Laurent, the shy awkwardness of what was so dearly desired. ‘I like them,’ said Laurent. ‘I think they’re beautiful.’ Laurent’s fingers found his again, a small intimacy that had him overbrimming. ‘I don’t think about her often. Only when I come here.’ ‘You don’t take after her.’ ‘Oh?’ ‘Her statue in Ios is three feet tall.’ The corner of Damen’s mouth twitched. He knew the statue, on a plinth in the north hall. ‘There’s a statue of her here. Come and meet her.” It was part of the nonsense they were sharing, a whim, to show Laurent. He tugged; they came to an arched open garden. ‘I take it back, you’re just like her.’ Laurent said it looking up. The statue here was bigger. Damen was smiling; there was delight in seeing Laurent explore himself, a young man who was sweet, teasing, at times unexpectedly earnest. Having made the decision to let Damen in, Laurent had not gone back on it. When the walls went up, it was with Damen inside them. But when Laurent came to stand in front of the statue of his mother, the mood changed to something more serious, as if prince and statue were communicating with each other. Unlike in Patras, it wasn’t the custom in Akielos to paint statues. His mother Egeria looked out towards the sea with a marble face and marble eyes, even though she’d had dark hair and eyes like himself and his father. He saw her through Laurent’s eyes, the old-fashioned dress of marble, the curled hair, her high, classical brow and outraised arm. Damen realised that he didn’t know how tall his mother really was. He had never asked about it, and had never been told. Laurent made a formal Akielon gesture that matched his chiton and the gardens, but was different to his habitual Veretian manners. Damen felt his skin prickle with strangeness. It was part of Akielon courtship to seek permission from a parent. If things had been different, Damen might have knelt in the great hall in front of King Aleron, asking for the right to court his youngest son. It was not that way between them. All their family was dead. ‘I’ll take care of your son,’ said Laurent. ‘I’ll protect his kingdom as if it were my own. I’ll give my life for his people.’ Above them, the sun was high and bright, and encouraged a retreat to the shade line. The boughs of the trees around them were heavy with scent. Laurent said, ‘I won’t let him down. I promise you.’

and an excerpt from the captive prince fan wiki.

#capri #sam reads capri #(kinda)#captive prince #prince's gambit #kings rising #laurent of vere #damen of akielos #okay i went pretty hard on this one ngl #PLEASE share your thoughts

28 notes · View notes

hopefulromances · 1 year

Text

Long Time Coming - Prolouge

Summary: Being hired as the first female assistant coach in the league was a challenge in of itself. Being a football protigy and University Football Legend was easy enough. Coaching Jamie Tartt was a challenge all on its own.

Word Count: 1090

Warnings: Enemies to lovers, no knowledge of how football works? First person. Minimal y/n use. Based on an OC fic I'm currently posting on AO3 so

A/N: Am I joining tumblr again to write Jamie Tartt fanfiction? Now that's an interesing question. Hope you enjoy.

I didn’t know quite what to expect when I started at Richmond. I was coming on as the first female assistant coach in the league. Something of a prodigy myself, I graduated from university early after leading our women’s football team to the championship three times. I worked as a kitman (or kit woman) for some teams in the Championship league until I saw the opening at Richmond and decided to throw my hat in the ring. Never in a million years did I actually think I would get an interview, much less a job offer.

But somehow, I ended up walking up the stairs to Rebecca Welton’s office, bright and early for my first day. I stood outside the closed door and too a breath, centering myself, before reaching for the handle. To my surprise, the door opened before I could touch it. The door opened to reveal Ted Lasso, the head manager of Richmond.

“Oh! Hello there!” He greeted with an inviting smile.

“Oh, my goodness, I’m sorry, I’m here to see- “

“Rebecca Welton,” the woman emerged from behind Ted, bearing her own polite smile. “And you must be (Y/N), our new Assistant Coach.”

I gave her my own polite smile and reached out to shake her hand. “That’s me. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Welton.”

“Well! What a surprise, it’s great to meet my new partner in crime, I’m Ted Lasso, nice to meet you.” He took my outstretched hand in a firm handshake.

I had read up on Ted Lasso. The American Football coach who was flying in all the way from Kansas to teach football in the Premiere League. Yet somehow, all that research could not have prepared me for what I was meeting.

“Coach Lasso! Yes, it’s great to meet you. I look forward to working with you.” I maintained my level of professionalism, but he waved me off.

“Please, call me Ted. My father was Coach Lasso,” he told me.

“Was he really?” I asked, surprised.

“No, but that would have been a great coincidence if he was,” he joked, with a smile.

I stared at him, not quite sure how to respond.

“We were just heading on a tour,” Rebecca broke the silence, “would you like to join us?”

And that was how I ended up on a tour of the facility with Ted and Rebecca. She took us through the halls of history of the club, passing the faces of the team. Including, one, Jamie Tartt. Jamie Tartt was all the football industry could talk about of late. The young star who couldn’t seem to miss, and who stole the hearts of all those who watched him. Yeah, he was fit. And as much as I tried not to, I couldn’t help but let him steal mine as well.

I wanted to hate him. I really did. He was everything I was. Young, talented, eager. But because he was a man, he was able to get fame and fortune because of it. That kind of thing just didn’t happen for women. The women’s league didn’t get nearly the same notoriety as the men’s did and even if I scored twice as many goals as Jamie Tartt, I would never leave the same legacy he did.

So yeah, I wanted to hate him just because he was famous. But I couldn’t. Something about his stupid cocky smirk, and the way he seemed to understand the balls every move before he could even touch the ball. It was impressive. Of course, it didn’t go unnoticed to me that he was dating Keely Jones. A gorgeous model, just like all the other women he’d been seen with. He wouldn’t look twice at me. You were staring at his face for so long you didn’t realize that Ted and Rebecca were staring at you, expectantly.

“Oh, sorry, what?”

Ted’s eyes danced quickly between Jamie’s photo and you. But if he suspected anything, he didn’t dare to comment as he brought you back into the conversation.

“Do you believe in ghosts?”

The rest of the day went by rather quickly. After the tour, Rebecca led you and Ted to a disastrous press conference that ended early, much to my own gratitude. I wasn’t sure I was ready to talk to press yet. I wasn’t ready to be a poster woman for my gender across the league. I just wanted to coach football. But luckily, after the press conference we were allowed to go watch practice.

That was what I was excited for. To watch the lads, play football. I had watched football for as long as I could remember. I grew up in Richmond. My family could never afford to go to games, but we watched every single match, good or bad. Now here I was, going to coach the team that I grew up loving. It was almost unreal.

“So! Where are you from?” Ted asked as we made our way to the pitch.

“I actually grew up here,” I told him with a smile. “I’ve been a greyhound’s fan since I was a girl. My dad loved the game.”

“Well, I’ll be!” Ted exclaimed. “He must be mighty proud of you then.”

“Yeah, he was!” I responded, my smile fading slightly.

We made it onto the pitch just as the boys were scrimmaging. My eyes were immediately drawn to the legendary, Roy Kent. He was a legend for sure, and the way he commanded the field certainly lived up to said legend. But eventually my eyes landed on Jamie Tartt just as he was doing a trick shot to hit the ball off the top of the goal. God, he was amazing.

As Ted and Coach Beard headed back inside, I decided to greet the boys as they came back inside. As Jamie approached, I stepped forward, wanting to introduce myself. He was good, very good, but I knew that he could be even better. With a bit of teamwork, I was certain that he could become the best in the league.

“Hi, Jamie. I’m (Y/N) and I just wanted to say that-"

He brushed right past me, shoving his water bottle into my hands.

“Thanks,” he dismissed, not even turning around.

I stood there, water bottle in my hands, mouth agape. Maybe hating him would be easier than I thought.

#jamie tartt #jamie tartt x y/n #jamie tartt x reader #jamie tartt imagine #jamie tartt fanfiction #enemies to lovers #angst #eventual fluff #ted lasso tv #ted lasso show #ted lasso

336 notes · View notes

baek-at-it-again95 · 10 months

Text

Walk The Plank (KHJ x fem reader)

Chapter 18: Outro: Long Journey

You had grown up hearing tales about the infamous pirate crew ATEEZ—the fearless, power-hungry men that roamed the seas in search of the most valuable treasure they could lay their hands on. You almost didn’t believe the stories your mother had told you as a child...not until you wound up on their ship

Warnings for this chapter: Depictions of weapons. That's it :)

A/N: I'm going to try not to get emotional...but this is the FINAL CHAPTER!! I am incredibly grateful to all of you who have read, reblogged, or commented on this story. You have brought me so much joy while writing this! :) I wanted to end this on an open note, so that the reader is introduced to a new adventure. New stories are coming in the future, and now that I have declared myself an english major, I can hopefully improve a lot. Love you all! :)

Previous: Chapter 17, Masterlist

Chapter 18: Outro: Long Journey

Early this morning, the ship had changed course towards your homeland, Utopia.

You and Hongjoong had a rather lengthy discussion, coming to the consensus that you should see your parents and let them know you're alright. Despite the captain's distaste for your father, he is willing to forgive him...especially now that he's in love with his daughter. And with the Cromer being gone, the map your father had stolen from Hongjoong is no longer useful in the grand scheme of things anyways.

You have many feelings about returning home. Your parents are unaware that you are not being held against your will since you were unexpectedly taken from your father's ship. You never did get the chance to write to them. You imagine your mother would be overwhelmed with joy at your safe return, as well as delighted that you've found where you belong. Your father, on the other hand, is a different story. You cannot imagine that he would be delighted when you tell him you plan to stay with ATEEZ. He had plans for your life that you never quite wanted, and that was just how it had always been, being the daughter of a wealthy researcher and politician.

Therefore, you were content with parting from the things you had left behind. Living in Utopia felt like an entirely different lifetime, and you were at peace with that. This ship has become your new home, and you wish to go on many future adventures with your crew. With Hongjoong. You hope your family can understand that.

You let your mind wander as you rummage through your chest of clothes. You pull out an ivory dress, recalling that Hongjoong was wearing a coat of the same color earlier. You carefully change into the pretty garment, smoothing down the fabric of the skirt with delicate fingers before taking some time to tend to your hair.

As you finish and tidy up, you're about to close the chest when a sparkle catches your eye. You push some fabric to the side, revealing two shiny items: the pearl necklace Wooyoung had given you, and the knife San had given you. They glisten in the low light as if speaking to you. You smile, picking up the pearls and fastening them around your neck before shutting the chest with a satisfied sigh.

When you arrive to the main deck, Seonghwa's smile is perhaps even brighter than the sun. He comments on how lovely it is to see you so radiant and well-rested. And it is not just Seonghwa—every crew member's smile seems a little bit wider after you bid them a hello...even Mingi's. It's quite pleasing to think the others missed your presence as much as you missed theirs.

At this time, San and Wooyoung have abandoned their posts, finding excuses to chat with you about your time away from them.

"There's our angel," Wooyoung says, knowing no personal space as he arrives at your side.

"Woo—"

"Looking lovelier than ever." He sighs. "So, I hear the other Sector Ones are nothing like ours, aye?" He must have overheard you talking to Hongjoong at some point.

"Both of them were unlike anything I have ever seen," you reply.

"And we are outlaws there?" San asks.

Wooyoung laughs. "O' course we are. We're us! And Miss Y/N here is an outlaw, too. Destined to be a pirate."

You roll your eyes at him. "I am not. I believe I was destined to meet you. Becoming a pirate was just something that happened after that." San gives you a sweet smile.

"I think so too, Y/N. Are you excited to return home?"

Just then, Mingi passes by, immediately scolding the boys. "Get back to work you two." He throws a bag of grains at San and he catches it with ease, setting it down and returning his full attention to you.

"More nervous, actually," you admit.

"Why?" Wooyoung presses. San raises a brow.

"You realize we took her from her father's ship?" Wooyoung starts up his usual loud laugh.

"Oh, yeah. But she actually likes it here," he retorts, the smirk on his face growing. "Right, Y/N?"

"Yes, yes. I mostly enjoy San's company," you reply teasingly. Wooyoung looks at you with shock.

"What would Captain think when I tell him that?"

"Alright, alright, I enjoy your company too, Woo," you add, looking around and hoping your eyes don't land on Hongjoong. Wooyoung's smugness returns and you can't help but smile, rolling your eyes. You ruffle his hair and wink at San before heading off to see if the others need a hand.

"Wait, where are you going, Y/N?" San asks. He and Wooyoung trail behind you like ducklings.

"Well, if I am to be on this ship, I should be of use, yes?"

"You could help us move those." Wooyoung pouts, pointing to the bag of grains San had dropped mere seconds ago. You give him a look of amusement.

"San just picked up that bag as if it was full of feathers. I am helping elsewhere," you state, giving Wooyoung a kiss on the cheek since you know it will silence him. You spot Yunho and make your way toward him, turning around to steal one last glance at Wooyoung. He seems dazed as he grins and touches his cheek.

***

You sit at Hongjoong's desk peacefully, writing in detail your experiences with the Cromer. His journal of adventures has become like your diary as you fill its pages with your own accounts. When you finish detailing your experience with what the alternate Hongjoong had called a telephone, you set your pen down.

"Hongjoong?" you say, glancing up to see him pacing the cabin slowly, reading something you don't recognize.

"Yes, darling?" he answers, not lifting his gaze.

"Do you think that one day, this will be important?" He now looks up at you curiously. "That sometime far from now, someone will read this journal and learn what happened?"

"Why of course, sweetheart. Even in the present, it is important knowledge."

"I hope someone uses it to get rid of the Guardians one day." You sigh, picking up your pen again.

"I know someone will," Hongjoong assures. With a tight-lipped smile, you nod.

Your attention moves to the door as a crew member hastily enters the cabin. "Cap'n, there be another ship headed this way." You exchange a worried glance with Hongjoong before heading outside, the crew member holding out his telescope for the captain to take. You nervously tug at the hem of your sleeve as Hongjoong lifts the lens to his good eye.

"A Utopian ship," Hongjoong mumbles. "They do not show signs of moving out of our way. Prepare to fight," he demands. "But do not fire unless fired upon first. Inform the others...I will steer the ship."

Your head feels light. A Utopian ship? Could they be searching for you? Perhaps it's just a trade ship and you're overthinking. The news is relayed to the crew quickly, and everyone begins preparing their weapons and stations. Hongjoong takes your hand in his, bringing it to his lips to place a gentle kiss before heading towards the helm. "Stay close."

"I will be right back," you inform him. Before he can say anything, you're running down to the crew's cabin, halting in front of your clothing chest. You open it to find the knife you had ignored earlier.

Perfect.

Quickly snatching it up, you return to the main deck. Your grip on your weapon is strong as you run to assume your position next to the captain.

Seeing how rapidly the Utopian ship approaches, you squeeze the handle of your knife even tighter, every muscle in your body tense with fear. Hongjoong spins the wheel to the right and the ship leans in the new direction. You widen your stance to prevent yourself from falling over, Seonghwa eyeing you from nearby to make sure you're alright. The tension is thick, everyone on guard as they await any kind of signal. Holding your breath, you scan the approaching ship.

The hair on the back of your neck stands up when your gaze lands on a familiar face across the way, near the center of the ship. The grip on your knife loosens and all air feels like it's knocked out of your lungs as you lock eyes with a man you've known for a long time. His muscular build is apparent even in his military uniform, and his dark curls flow in the wind.

Before you is the man your parents had arranged your marriage with.

Bang Chan.

Taglist: @foxinnie8 @lexiigom @vivienne2000

#kim hongjoong #kim hongjoong x reader #ateez x reader #ateez reader insert #ateez au #ateez pirate au #hongjoong x reader #ateez #ateez fanfic #ateez fic #ateez hongjoong

118 notes · View notes